Sutton goalkeeper leaves club over pie-eating fallout
SUTTON UNITED reserve goalkeeper Wayne Shaw has agreed to resign from the club after eating a pie in the dugout during Monday’s FA Cup defeat to Arsenal.
A betting row erupted as a result of the incident and manager Paul Doswell confirmed Shaw’s departure on Tuesday afternoon.
Shaw was shown on television eating the snack towards the end of the 2-0 loss before admitting after the game he was aware that a bookmaker was offering odds on him to do so.
“Wayne has offered his resignation to the chairman this afternoon and that has been accepted. It’s a very sad end to what was a very good story,” Doswell said.
Both the Football Association and the Gambling Commission announced on Tuesday that they would carry out independent investigations into the publicity stunt.
Sun Bets tweeted after the game that they had paid out a “five-figure sum” on a bet that 46-year-old Shaw would be shown eating a pie.
Doswell confirmed both investigating bodies had been in touch with the club and said Shaw had made a “very genuine mistake”.
“Of course we’ve been contacted by the FA, the betting commission, and it’s been a very sobering morning,” he said.
“It’s taken the gloss off my players’ performance and gone on to something it shouldn’t have gone on to. I feel very sorry for the players in many regards that the spotlight has been taken away from them.
“It was an honest error but one that’s had sad ramifications. Wayne’s been swept along with what’s happened in this last three or four weeks.
“Since the camera got him in the Leeds game he’s gone into another world in terms of what he’s used to.
“I think he’s been ill-advised at times and he’s just made a very genuine mistake. If you knew him, he’s such a lovely man. His judgement wasn’t great and he’s paid the price for that.”
Doswell went on to reveal Shaw was in tears this morning following the fallout of Monday night’s game and said he should have sought advice from senior figures at Sutton before making any decisions over the pie-eating.
“He’s absolutely devastated — tears down the phone this afternoon. There’s no joy and nothing good coming out of this particular situation for him,” the manager said.