Enoch West has began to trend after Fulham No.9 Aleksandr Mitrovic learned his fate from the Football Association.
The Serbia international was given a straight red card for pushing Christopher Kavanagh in the 3-1 FA Cup defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday 19th March.
Many called for Mitrovic to be given a lengthy ban, and Fulham‘s £22m talisman has now been slapped with an eight-game suspension for his actions.
In light of that news, some of English football’s most significant bans began to resurface, including West’s remarkable suspension.
Why Enoch West was once banned for 30 years
Well, eight games seems like a lot for Mitrovic, but it pales in comparison to West’s ban.
The Englishman signed for Manchester United back in 1910 and went on to score 80 goals for the Red Devils, before he was banned for life by the FA after being found guilty of match fixing.
West is said to have been involved in fixing a clash between Manchester United and Liverpool on 2nd April 1915.
Three of his Manchester United teammates and four Liverpool players were also given bans for life.
West’s lifetime ban was actually lifted as he protested his innocence, but it wasn’t until 1945 – when he was 59 years of age – that his suspension ended after 30 years, making it the longest ban in Football League history.
The Hucknall-born striker never returned to football in any capacity despite his ban being lifted.
So, while Mitrovic is presumably sat at home devastated by the FA’s verdict, he surely can’t feel as bad as West did.
If the man nicknamed Knocker truly was innocent – which he seemed to be given the fact his ban was eventually lifted – then he was effectively robbed of his career by the FA at a time where he was one of the best around.
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