Zimpapers Logo

NAUGHTY BOY . . . Sutton United’s reserve goalkeeper Wayne Shaw has been slammed by his manager over a pie-eating “stunt” on the bench during their FA Cup match against Arsenal on Monday night

LONDON. — Sutton United reserve goalkeeper Wayne Shaw is under investigation by the English Football Association for potentially breaching betting rules during Monday night’s FA Cup 2-0 loss to Arsenal.The Gambling Commission is also investigating if there was a breach of betting regulations after Shaw ate a pie in the 83rd minute of the game. Before Monday’s game, a bookmaker offered odds of 8-1 that Shaw would eat a pie on camera during the match.

He later said it was “a bit of banter”. Shaw (46) ate the pie while standing by the substitutes’ bench.

Asked whether he knew if anyone had taken up the bet, he told the Daily Mail: “I think there were a few people. Obviously we are not allowed to bet. I think a few mates and a few of the fans.

“A few of the lads said to me earlier on, ‘What is going on with the 8-1 about eating a pie?’ I said, ‘I don’t know, I’ve eaten nothing all day, so I might give it a go later on,’” he said.

“Sun Bets had us at 8-1 to eat a pie. I thought I would give them a bit of banter and let’s do it. All the subs were on and we were 2-0 down.”

Sun Bets, who sponsored the club on Monday for the fifth-round tie, tweeted that it had paid out a “five-figure sum” on the bet.

The Gambling Commission, which licenses and regulates gambling in Britain, says it is looking into whether there was any “irregularity in the betting market and establishing whether the operator has met its licence requirement to conduct its business with integrity”.

It warned operators in June last year about the integrity of taking bets on novelty markets.

“Integrity in sport is not a joke and we have opened an investigation to establish exactly what happened,” said enforcement and intelligence director Richard Watson.

The FA’s rules on betting state: “A participant shall not bet, either directly or indirectly, or instruct, permit, cause or enable any person to bet on (i) the result, progress, conduct or any other aspect of, or occurrence in, a football match or competition.”

Sutton have promised that Shaw will be brought “back down to earth” after his publicity stunt failed to impress the club’s hierarchy.

Speaking on BBC 5 Live, Sutton’s chairman, Bruce Elliott, said: “If you knew the roly poly goalkeeper you probably wouldn’t be very surprised. But Wayne is a top man. I didn’t know anything about it. He has got himself in the papers again and the fame obviously has gone to his head a little bit, but we will soon bring him back down to earth, don’t worry about that.”

Manager Paul Doswell, who also employs Shaw as part of his coaching team, said: “Wayne has become a global superstar on the back of being 20st. He has made that a chance to get more media coverage off the back of it. It wouldn’t surprise me. I don’t think it shows us in the best light.”

A worldwide ban on betting in football was introduced in 2014 and covers everyone involved in the game, from the players and managers to the match officials and club staff.

It prevents participants covered by the ban from betting, either directly or indirectly, on any football match or competition, including the passing of “inside information”. The FA website defines that as “information that you are aware of due to your position in the game and which is not publicly available”.

It adds: “You are not allowed to pass inside information on to someone else, which they use for betting.”

Goals from Lucas Pérez and Theo Walcott secured the Gunners’ passage to a quarter-final at home to Lincoln City and Doswell was clearly emotional after a whirlwind few weeks.

“We have done the non-league proud,” he said.

“They are 105 places above us in the pyramid. Those lads won’t walk properly tomorrow.

“The problem in sport is when you have lost, you feel disappointed but they put this club on a worldwide map.

“It is a different world,” he added.

“My lot will go to work tomorrow. They are movie stars with James Bond security. You can’t get near them.”

It was more of an observation than a direct criticism.

“I totally get it. Unfortunately that’s the world we live in. I saw a few idiots shouting and screaming at Wenger and Arsenal players. They’ve got to be protected from those type of people.”

Doswell was also touched by the fact Arsenal have offered to donate £50 000 towards Sutton’s charitable work. — The Guardian.