The 1905 English football bribery scandal was an event of corruption that surfaced at the conclusion of the 1904-05 football season. It centred on the accusations that Manchester City player Billy Meredith had been offered bribes to purposely lose their final league match of the season against Aston Villa.
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It resulted in the manager of Man City (Tom Maley) and former Chairman (W.Forrest) being banned from English football sine die, 2 directors (Allison and Davies) suspended for seven months, a further five directors dismissed, and a total of 17 players were banned from ever playing for the club again. Among the players banned was Billy Meredith, who was banned from football for 18 months and was transferred to City's local rivals Manchester United before the end of his ban.
Key figures
Billy Meredith played football for Manchester City from 1894 to 1905, when the scandal took place. He was the key participant in the 1905 scandal, where he allegedly tried to bribe Alex Leake, a rival football player for Aston Villa, £10 to throw the final match of the 1904-1905 English football season. Alex Leake turned Meredith in to The Football Association when asked about the incident; however, Meredith always pleaded innocence. Although no evidence was taken from Meredith, he was suspended for one year and fined. Manchester City refused to pay him, as they did not want to upset the Football Association, and Meredith retaliated by exposing Manchester City's illegal payments to their players of over £4 (which was the set wage given at the time). In his statement to the press, he said, "What was the secret of the success of the Manchester City team? In my opinion, the fact that the club put aside the rule that no player should receive more than four pounds a week... The team delivered the goods, the club paid for the goods delivered and both sides were satisfied" As a result, he claimed, "You approve of the severe punishment administered by the Commission AGAINST ME and state that the offence I committed at Aston Villa should have wiped me out of football forever. Why ME ALONE? when I was only the spokesman of others equally guilty"in a letter to the Athletic News.
After the Football Association looked into and verified Meredith's accusations of overpaying players, Manchester City's manager Tom Maley was suspended from football for life. Tom Maley was pointed out by name by Meredith, who claimed that Maley ordered him to bribe Leake, as well as that corruption was common among Manchester City's administration.
After losing to Aston Villa and thus any hopes of winning the league with his teammates of Manchester City, Sandy Turnbull physically fought with Alex Leake. The resulting investigation into the violence revealed the bribery scandal.
Teammates of Manchester City who were also involved in the bribery scandal and punished with Turnbull and Meredith. In the end, they were also bought by Manchester United.
Aftermath
As a result of the scandal in Manchester City, the team was forced to pay £900. 17 players got fined individually and were suspended until New Year's Day, 1907. The Football Association also forced Manchester City to auction off all of their players at the Queen's Hotel in Manchester. Manchester United's manager, Ernest Mangnall, bought up many of the most talented players, including Billy Meredith (for £500), Herbert Burgess, Sandy Turnbull, and Jimmy Bannister. In fact, Meredith moved to Manchester United in May, 1906, while still banned; he soon became the heart of the United team. Manchester United proceeded to win the 1907-1908 season championships after all of the Manchester City players' bans were lifted on December 31, 1906.