Bookies refuse to pay out £15k as punter wins incredible bet involving Argentina captain Lionel Messi

The FIFA World Cup ended with Argentina winning and Lionel Messi being awarded the Golden Ball. These were the exact events predicted by a 30-year-old maintenance engineer in Straffordshire who placed a bet on the outcome, but he has had little reason to be pleased.

Liam Manifold confidently predicted that Argentina would win the final against France and that Lionel Messi would be awarded the Golden Ball. But he was devastated when he learned that his £10 bet on the outcome of the soccer tournament would not be honored.

Manifold was expecting to collect £15,000 in winnings, but when he went to the bookmakers the day after the final match to claim his prize, he was told that his bet was not valid. Instead, he would only receive a small fraction of what he was expecting.

Speaking about the situation to the Daily Star, Manifold explained:

"I went to cash in the bet and they said it shouldn't have been placed and offered me £660 for it."

He continued:

"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."

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Coral explain why Manifold's bet with Lionel Messi and Argentina can't be in the same ticket

Coral, the bookie in this case, explained that the events Manifold had placed in his multi-bet were too close and shouldn't have been together. However, the bet was accepted when Manifold placed it in November.

A spokesman for Coral 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 Lionel Messi being player of the tournament will be long odds-on."

He continued:

"So we have settled the bet in the fairest way possible, paying out on the event with the biggest price... 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."

Determined to get the payout he feels he rightfully deserves, Liam Manifold has decided to take his case to an independent complaints committee.