1862 World Cup Scandal

The  Quidditch World Cup Scandal of 1862, also known as the  Luck-of-the-Irish Scandal , was a cheating scandal focused on the English National Team that was uncovered during the 1862 World Cup, and which left a long-lasting effect on the international game of Quidditch.

BackgroundEdit
The Quidditch World Cup was played annually since its inception in 1473. From 1853 through 1861, the English National Team dominated the international scene, winning an unprecedented nine consecutive Cups; the former record of four had been held by Portugal since 1721. In the decade leading up to the Scandal, the Irish National Team shattered a host of British League and European Union records, including:
 * Most points in a game (4,270 v. Estonia, 11 Feb 1855)
 * Most goals in a game (412 v. Estonia, 11 Feb 1855)
 * Greatest margin of victory (10,200 points v. Estonia, 11 Feb 1855; 14,482-410)
 * Fastest Snitch catch (2.5 seconds by Roderic Plumpton, 7 Nov 1858)
 * Most shutout victories in a season (28 in 1859)
 * Most consecutive victories (62, 1858-1960)
 * Most victories in a single season (36 in 1859)
 * Best single-season record (36-and-0 in 1859)
 * The only recorded perfect season since the introduction of the standardized 36-game season (1859)

InvestigationEdit
Following the English National Team's decisive 2320-190 defeat of the Swiss National Team in the quarterfinals of the 1862 World Cup, Swiss keeper Marge Katizan used a bedazzling hex on her Quidditch robes in order to sneak into the English Team's clubhouse, where she discovered a small glass vial containing an unknown substance. Katizan turned the vial over to European Union officials, who determined that the vial contained traces of the potent luck-potion Felix Felics.

An investigation was immediately launched into the allegations of cheating Vertex, in whose locker the vial was found, alleged that Oggenfuss had planted the potion in order to discredit the English Team, but Vertex's fingerprints on the vial suggested otherwise. Vertex then tried to claim that he and Katizan had been carrying on a torrid love affair that had gone sour, all in an attempt to explain both why Katizan would want to set up the English National Team, and how she had obtained a container with Vertex's fingerprints on it. Needless to say, no one bought the story.



AftermathEdit
English keeper Kieron Sheridan was the only member of the team to emerge from the investigation unscathed. He went on to recruit an entirely new squad and lead a franchise rebuilding before retiring in 1867. Several more players on other national teams were implicated as having used the luck-potion, and nineteen players in all (including Vertex and his team) were banned from the sport for their involvement.

As a result of the scandal, the Quidditch World Cup was changed from an annual game to a quadrennial game, and Felix Felicis was explicitly banned from the sport. Within the next year, this ruling had trickled down through most of organized Quidditch throughout the world, all the way down to the school level.