| Gary Mackay | |
| Birth Date: | 1964 1, df=y |
| Birth Place: | Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Position: | Midfielder |
| Years1: | 1980–1997 |
| Years2: | 1997–1999 |
| Caps1: | 516 |
| Caps2: | 44 |
| Totalcaps: | 560 |
| Goals1: | 45 |
| Goals2: | 1 |
| Totalgoals: | 46 |
| Nationalyears1: | 1987–1988 |
| Nationalteam1: | Scotland |
| Nationalcaps1: | 4 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 1 |
| Nationalyears2: | 1990[1] |
| Nationalteam2: | SFA (SFL centenary) |
| Nationalcaps2: | 1 |
| Nationalgoals2: | 0 |
| Manageryears1: | 1999–2000 |
| Managerclubs1: | Airdrieonians |
Gary Mackay (born 23 January 1964 in Edinburgh) is a Scottish former footballer, who made over 500 league appearances for Heart of Midlothian and also played for Airdrieonians and the Scotland national team. After retiring as a player, he managed Airdrie for a year. Mackay is now an SFA–registered agent.[2]
Mackay played for Heart of Midlothian for most of his career, and he holds the record for the most competitive appearances for the club, with 640.[3] Mackay won international recognition in the late 1980s, winning four caps for Scotland. His most significant act as a Scotland player was to score the winning goal on his debut in a UEFA Euro 1988 qualifying match against Bulgaria in Sofia.[4] Although this goal did not substantially benefit Scotland, who had already been eliminated, it was of great significance to Ireland, who qualified for the finals as a result of this strike.[4]
Kevin Harper alleged that he had been racially abused by Mackay during a match in November 1996. The Scottish Football Association failed to investigate the incident.[5] [6] Mackay has since been involved in work for 'Show Racism the Red Card' which primarily aims to prevent racism in football.[7]
Mackay left Hearts in 1997 to play for Airdrie. After retiring as a player in 1999, Mackay then managed Airdrie for a season, but the club suffered severe financial problems[8] and he was sacked to make way for Steve Archibald during July 2000.[9]
Mackay has since worked as an agent, representing players including Garry O'Connor,[10] Christophe Berra[11] and Lee Wallace.[12] Mackay was criticised by his former club Hearts in June 2011 on the official Hearts website. "Over a short space of time 4 players at our club have been on the wrong end of the law. We note that 3 of them are represented by the same agent – Gary Mackay – who has been so vicious in his attacks against Mr Romanov".[13]