Former Sheffield Wednesday and England defender Peter Swan dies aged 84

Former Sheffield Wednesday and England defender Peter Swan has died at the age of 84.

Swan played 19 times for England and was part of the 1962 World Cup squad in Chile, although illness prevented him from playing in the tournament.

But he was infamously involved in a betting scandal that saw him banned in 1964 for eight years and which effectively ended his career at the top level.

The Owls said in a club statement: “Sheffield Wednesday are saddened to learn of the passing of our former player Peter Swan at the age of 84.

“Over two spells at Hillsborough the revered defender made over 300 appearances and represented England at international level.

“Our thoughts are with Peter’s family and friends at this difficult time.”

Swan was born in the Yorkshire village of South Elmsall in October 1936 and joined Wednesday in November 1953.

The wing-half formed a formidable defensive partnership with Tom McAnearney and Tony Kay at Hillsborough and made his England debut against Yugoslavia in May 1960.

But Swan’s world came crashing down when it was revealed that he and team-mates Kay and David Layne had bet on Wednesday to lose at Ipswich in December 1962.

Swan received a four-month jail sentence after the scandal was revealed in April 1964 and did play again until 1972 when he rejoined Wednesday.

The ban denied Swan any chance of becoming one of Sir Alf Ramsey’s England heroes at the 1966 World Cup.

Swan eventually made a total of 301 appearances for Wednesday before moving to Bury and he had player-manager roles with Matlock and Worksop before becoming a publican.