Keeper is pie & trashed
Roly-poly Wayne’s bets storm tears
SUTTON’S roly-poly-goalie Wayne Shaw was “in tears” last night after being forced to resign.
He is caught in a bets scandal for pie-munching during the FA Cup game against Arsenal.
LARDY goalie Wayne Shaw was “devastated” last night after he had to quit amid an FA Cup pieeating bets scandal.
The tubby Sutton United footballer was forced to resign “in tears” after his pie-munching antics against Arsenal faced investigations by both the FA and the Gambling Commission.
The 23-stone substitute goalkeeper gobbled down a meat and potato pie in the dugout live on BBC TV while his giant-killing team tried to come back from 2-0 down against ® their Premier League opponents. But fans suggested later his snack was a publicity stunt for online gambling company Sun Bets.
The betting firm had offered 8-1 on a hungry Wayne eating the pie before the end of the match.
And the 46-year-old admitted he was influenced by mates who had backed the bet, which could be against gambling rules.
The veteran, who once shared a youth team dressing room with England legend Alan Shearer, later said he did it for “banter”.
Wayne, nicknamed the “roly-poly-goalie”, said: “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 have eaten nothing all day, so I might give it a go later on.’ I thought I’d give them a bit of banter and let’s do it.”
The Gambling Commission said: “Integrity in sport is not a joke and we have opened an investigation to establish what happened.”
Devastated
Wayne later said: “This is just a bit of fun and me being hungry.”
But National League club Sutton United bosses demanded the popular club stalwart resigned.
Manager Paul Doswell said he did not know if his players had taken a punt on Wayne to eat the pie and that it was a “sad end” to Sutton’s FA Cup dream run.
He added: “Wayne’s a lovely man but his judgment was not great and he’s going to pay the price.
“He is absolutely devastated. Tears down the phone this afternoon. There’s no joy or something good coming out of this particular situation for him.”
Yet last night restaurant chain MEATliquor offered Wayne the position of “chief pie tester”.
The chain tweeted: “Please can you send us your email? We would like to offer you a job as our Chief Pie Taster. Genuine offer.”
TV’s Piers Morgan, who had previously spoken to Wayne on Good Morning Britain, tweeted: “This Wayne Shaw sacking just about sums up the pathetically PC-crazed world we now have to endure. Shame on you, Sutton United.”
And Match Of The Day’s Gary Lineker tweeted: “Day by day football is losing its heart and its sense of humour. #piegate”