1915 British football betting scandal

The 1915 British football betting scandal occurred when a Football League First Division match between Manchester United and Liverpool at Old Trafford on 2 April (Good Friday) 1915 was fixed in United's favour, with players from both sides benefiting from bets placed upon the result. In all, seven players were found to have participated in the scandal and all were subsequently banned for life, although most later had their bans overturned.

At the time of the match, Manchester United were struggling to avoid relegation, while Liverpool were in mid-table and neither challenging for honours nor facing the threat of relegation themselves. The effects of the First World War provided further motivation to perpetrate a fix - by the end of March it was almost certain that the league would suspend operations after the 1914–15 season was finished, interrupting and possibly ending the footballing careers of everyone then playing in the league. Also, the players perhaps thought that the diversion of the conflict would lessen the attention that would normally be paid to a dubious match result.

The match ended in a 2–0 win to United, with George Anderson scoring both goals. However, the match referee and some observers noted Liverpool's lack of commitment during the game – they had missed a penalty that had been awarded to them, and when Fred Pagnam hit the Manchester United crossbar late in the match, his teammates publicly remonstrated with him.

After the match, handbills started to appear, alleging that a large amount of money had been bet at odds of 7/1 on a 2–0 win to United.The Football Association launched an investigation and found that players from both sides had been involved in rigging the match: Sandy Turnbull, Arthur Whalley and Enoch West of United, and Jackie Sheldon, Tom Miller, Bob Pursell and Thomas Fairfoul of Liverpool; Sheldon was a former United player himself and was found to be the plot's ringleader. Some players, such as Pagnam and United's George Anderson, had refused to take part. Pagnam had threatened to score a goal to ruin the result, hence his late shot against the crossbar; he later testified against his team-mates at the FA hearing. At the same hearing, United player Billy Meredith denied any knowledge of the match-fixing, but stated that he became suspicious when none of his teammates would pass the ball to him.

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