Punter who bagged £15k on World Cup bet 'still refusing to accept £660 settlement'

A punter who bagged almost £15,000 on a World Cup bet is "still refusing to settle for £660 offered instead", three weeks on. Liam Manifold was given odds of 1,495 to one by Coral on a series of bets - but the bookie refused to pay out saying the events were "closely related to each other".

The 30-year-old placed a bet on November 11, predicting that Argentina would win, Lionel Messi would be named player of the tournament and that France would also make the final. The maintenance engineer headed back to the betting shop in Horninglow the day after the final - but was left empty-handed.

A spokesman for Coral previously said the events were "closely related to each other so the prices offered on them individually could not be included in a multiple bet". He said the firm had made a "very fair and generous offer for the settlement of the bet" - said by Liam to have been just £660.

Now, more than three weeks on, Liam said he has still not accepted the £660 offer "through principle". He added: "I'm not accepting the £660 they offered through principle, none of this is a fault of my own."

Liam, from Tutbury, had already planned how he would spent the winnings - he wanted to buy his disabled dad a new mobility scooter, as well as put some away for the future. He said the firm should pay up as his bet was accepted without any issue.

A spokesman for Coral previously said: "These three events are all closely related to each other so the prices that were offered on them individually can't be included in a multiple bet. 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. 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 November 11."