February 22 – It was the biggest night in tiny Sutton United’s history: a fifth-round FA cup tie against 12-time winners Arsenal – four divisions higher – with the eyes of the world on the most romantic fixture in this season’s competition.
Many predicted a landslide victory for the Premier League aristocrats but what a show the non-league side put up, a mere 2-0 defeat against a side packed with internationals representing a virtual moral victory in the heart of leafy south London watched by a capacity 5,000 crowd and millions more on television.
What a letdown, then, that the special occasion was marred by an incident that made just as many headlines and involved Sutton’s portly reserve goalkeeper Wayne Shaw who was filmed eating a pie while on the substitutes bench.
Shaw had little option but to leave the club after the UK’s Gambling Commission, the regulatory body that oversees British gambling, and the Football Association announced investigations into his actions when it emerged that a betting company had offered odds against any Sutton player tucking into a pie during the televised game.
Shaw, who weighs 20 stone, was caught on camera doing exactly that minutes from the end of Monday’s game. He had previously featured on promotional material during the club’s rollercoaster ride to the last 16 of the tournament revealing he once played in the same youth team as former England striker Alan Shearer.
But it all went sour when Sutton manager Paul Doswell announced Shaw’s fate on live television. “We felt we had to take very strong actions. The chairman spoke to him this afternoon and Wayne offered his resignation,” Doswell said.
“I’m devastated, the chairman is devastated. I have spoken to Wayne and the guy is in tears, crying down the phone. It is a very sad end to what has been a very good story. It’s clear in FA rules that you’re not allowed to bet – and whether it was a fun bet, or whatever it was, it wasn’t acceptable.”
Shaw admitted knowing about the wager offered by Sun Bets, the online betting branch of The Sun newspaper whose logo also appeared on Sutton’s shirts. He denied he had placed a bet himself but acknowledged his pie-eating stunt backfired horribly. “I thought I would give them a bit of banter,” he said, before admitting to a “costly error of judgment”.
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