The club controversially rejoined the First Division in 1919,[17][18] despite only finishing sixth in 191415, the last season of competitive football before the First World War had intervened although an error in the calculation of goal average meant Arsenal had actually finished fifth,[19] an error which was corrected by the Football League in 1975.[20] The First Division was being expanded from 20 teams to 22, and the two new entrants were elected at an AGM of the Football League. One of the extra places was given to Chelsea, who had finished 19th in the First Division and thus had been already relegated. The other spot could have gone to 20th-placed Tottenham Hotspur (also relegated), or to Barnsley or Wolves, who had finished third and fourth in the Second Division respectively.[19]
Instead, the League decided instead to promote sixth-placed Arsenal, for reasons of history over merit; Norris argued that Arsenal be promoted for their "long service to league football", having been the first League club from the South.[18] The League board agreed; they voted eighteen votes to eight to promote Arsenal ahead of their local rivals Tottenham Hotspur,[17] which has fuelled the long-standing enmity between the two clubs. It has been alleged that this was due to backroom deals or even outright bribery by Sir Henry Norris,[17] colluding with his friend John McKenna, chairman of Liverpool and the Football League, who recommended Arsenal's promotion to the AGM.[17]
No conclusive proof of wrongdoing has ever come to light, though other aspects of Norris's financial dealings unrelated to the promotion controversy have fuelled speculation on the matter; Norris resigned as chairman and left the club in 1929, having been found guilty by the Football Association of financial irregularities; he was found to have misused his expenses account, and to have pocketed the proceeds of the sale of the Arsenal team bus.