As the 1914-15 season drew to a close it was clear that football could not continue. The decision to suspend the League and Cup competition came as no surprise, and the global conflict brought forth the heroic and less seemly side of the footballing fraternity. The unsavoury element occurred in a game between Manchester United and Liverpool on 2 April 1915. The political uncertainties prompted a number of players to conspire and rig the result - a 2-0 win for United - and make a killing at the bookmaker's. Suspicions were aroused and the subsequent inquiry resulted in eight players receiving life bans. After the war the Football League took a more charitable view of those who had fought for their country. The exception was Manchester United's Enoch "Knocker" West, whose ban remained in force after he continued to deny all charges.
Greater nobility was shown in the famous Christmas
Day truce of 1914, when German and British soldiers played an impromptu game in No-Man’s-Land. And even in the height of battle football was often used as a morale booster. Members of some regiments invoked the names of their beloved clubs as they advanced, and even dribbled balls onto the battlefield. Back in England, regional football replaced the traditional competitions between 1915 and 1918. These were low-key affairs and fixtures were organised so as not to interfere with the war effort. After Armistice Day on 11 November 1918 the appetite of both clubs and supporters to reinstate the official programme was huge. There was even talk of getting a truncated FA Cup competition off the ground immediately. In the end the authorities decided in favour of starting afresh the following season, and 1919-20 thus became the first postwar campaign.
World History
