The 1915 Good Friday scandal that shook British football forever

A suspicious 2-0 loss exposed a dark secret: players betting against their own team. The fallout would alter British football's ethics—and lives—forever.

, and Administrator

2026 May 17 . 5:02 PM

1 min read

The image shows a black and white photo of a man standing on a soccer field with his arms crossed,... — The image shows a black and white photo of a man standing on a soccer field with his arms crossed, surrounded by a group of people sitting in the background. The man is believed to be the legendary goalkeeper of Manchester United, who passed away at the age of 89.

The 1915 Good Friday scandal that shook British football forever

One of the biggest betting scandals in British football unfolded on Good Friday in 1915. The match between Liverpool and Manchester United ended 2-0, but suspicions of match-fixing soon emerged. The fallout led to lifelong bans for seven players, including Scottish defender Tom Miller.

Tom Miller was born on June 30, 1890, in Motherwell, Scotland. He made his Football League First Division debut for Liverpool on February 17, 1912, in a game against The Wednesday. His career took a drastic turn three years later when he became entangled in the 1915 Good Friday betting scandal.

The scandal erupted after Liverpool’s defeat to Manchester United raised eyebrows. Investigations revealed that players had bet against their own team. As a result, seven professionals, Miller among them, received lifetime bans from the sport. The incident forced football authorities to introduce stricter gambling rules, barring players and officials from wagering on matches. In the aftermath, leagues tightened oversight of suspicious betting patterns. Many of the banned players, including Miller, later enlisted in the military during World War I. Most had their bans overturned once the war ended.

The 1915 scandal remains a landmark case in discussions about ethics and corruption in sports. It exposed the dangers of gambling in professional football and prompted lasting reforms. The event continues to serve as a cautionary example of how betting can undermine the integrity of the game.