Every single punter dreams of winning big one day.
Collecting £15,000 for a £10 bet? It would be special and one person thought that had become reality for them after the 2022 World Cup final.
Lionel Messi and Argentina beat France in the Qatar tournament’s epic finale, with Messi also collecting the Golden Ball award after the game.
Liam Manifold, from Tutbury, Staffordshire, placed a £10 bet on November 11th – the weekend before the World Cup – with Coral for those exact outcomes; Argentina to win the World Cup, Argentina vs France in the final and Messi to be named Player of the Tournament.
He wrote all three selections down on a slip himself.
The combined odds of the treble were 1,495/1 and when it came in, Liam thought he’d be heading down to the shop and collecting around £15,000.
But Coral – who accepted the slip – instead only offered him £660, because the bets were apparently too closely related.
What has Liam said about the ‘winning’ bet?
Liam, 30, told the Daily Mail: “I went to cash in the bet and they said it shouldn’t have been placed and offered me £660 for it. I’ve gone through their complaints system, there’s no leeway. I’ve gone to an independent complaints committee and I’m waiting to hear back from them.
“I’ve since had different companies contact me saying if that was their company, they’d pay out. When I placed the bet the guy behind the counter said it was absolutely fine. They’re now saying it’s a related bet.
“It’s now two weeks after the final and I don’t seem to be getting anywhere. If there’s an error it’s their fault for accepting the bet. It’s very frustrating.
“Just under £15,000 for a big betting company is pennies for them, but for me it’s a life-changing amount of money. My dad’s disabled so I was going to buy him a new disability scooter and keep the rest in savings.”
Below is an image of the bet slip, courtesy of the Daily Mail
What have Coral said on the matter?
Coral have stated that the £660 offer to Liam in compensation is more than what they would have offered for the bet when it was initially placed back in November.
“If Argentina and France have made the final, then the odds of Argentina winning it are clearly much shorter than they were at the outset,” A Coral spokesperson said on the matter. “If Argentina have then won the World Cup, the chances of Messi being player of the tournament will be long odds-on.
“So we have settled the bet in the fairest way possible, paying out on the event with the biggest price, an Argentina v France final, at 22/1, and then on the basis that that had happened, we applied the price of Argentina winning the final which was 10/11 before the game.
“And then on the basis that Argentina had won the cup, we applied an over-generous price on Messi to be player of the tournament at 1/2, as the odds on that happening should Argentina have won the World Cup would have been much shorter.
“The prices on the slip had been written on by the customer not the member of staff. We have settled the bet in line with our terms and conditions, and we have made a very fair and generous offer for the settlement of the bet that exceeds what would have been the odds of such an eventuality had a customer asked for rush specific treble on December 11.”
You get the feeling this is far from the end of the betting saga…
Quiz: Can you name all 30 of these ‘streets won’t forget’ players from World Cups?
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