Celebs lead fans demanding Sutton keeper Wayne Shaw get his job back as he’s SACKED by club for eating a pie in the dugout thanks to OTT novelty bet probe after club’s Arsenal heroics
A petition for the 23st reserve keeper has hundreds of hits with pie-gate trending on Twitter
FANS were fuming last night after roly-poly goalie Wayne Shaw got the boot for eating a pie during Sutton’s FA Cup tie with Arsenal.
A petition to reinstate the 23st reserve keeper has hundreds of hits with pie-gate trending on Twitter.
SunBets offered 8/1 that Wayne, 46, would eat a pie in Monday’s live BBC game.
He was filmed scoffing one in the dugout and later said pals put money on the bet.
The FA and gambling’s regulator then launched probes.
Wayne said: “It was just me being hungry.”
Sutton United were blasted for forcing their 23st talisman to resign amid the probe — souring the non-league club’s heroic 2-0 FA Cup defeat to Arsenal on Monday night.
Match of the Day host Gary Lineker tweeted: “So Wayne Shaw, who slept on a sofa 3 nights a week at Sutton to maintain and run the place, loses his job over #piegate. FFS!”
He added: “Day by day football is losing its heart and its sense of humour.”
Good Morning Britain anchor Piers Morgan added: “This Wayne Shaw sacking just about sums up the pathetically PC-crazed world we now have to endure. Shame on you, Sutton United.”
SunBets offered odds of 8/1 that Wayne, 46, would eat a pie during the live BBC game, then paid out after he was filmed scoffing one on the bench in the 83rd minute.
The reserve goalkeeper yesterday admitted some of his pals put money on it — prompting the FA and the Gambling Commission to announce investigations.
Wayne told the BBC’s World at One: “In no way did I put anyone in jeopardy of that - this is not the case here, this is just a bit of fun and me being hungry.”
He also claimed it was a “pasty” — although Sun Bets still paid out as the definition of a pie is a “filling totally encased in pastry”.
His beloved club then forced him to resign yesterday afternoon.
Manager Paul Doswell said: “It’s a very sad end to what was a good story.
“It’s clear in FA rules you’re not allowed to bet — and whether it was a fun bet, or whatever it was, it wasn’t acceptable.
“It’s with a very heavy heart, because he was a good friend of mine.”
The club said in a statement: “We are naturally disappointed Wayne’s time with us should end in this manner and would like to thank him for his contribution to the club and wish him well for the future.”
Players in the top eight tiers of English football have been banned since 2015 from betting on any matches anywhere in the world.
Gambling Commission director Richard Watson warned last night: “Integrity in sport is not a joke and we have opened an investigation to establish exactly what happened.”
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The FA also announced a probe, with a spokesman adding: “We are investigating to establish whether there has been any breach of FA rules relating to betting.”
A spokesman for SunBets said: “As a responsible operator, we are investigating the allegations that have been made and are liaising with the UKGC accordingly.
“Until our investigation is complete, it is inappropriate to comment further.”
Before Wayne’s sacking, many saw it as a harmless joke.
Lineker was himself the subject of a novelty bet after claiming he would present in his pants if Leicester won the Premier League.
Telly host James Corden added: “It should be the law that ALL 2nd choice keepers must eat a pie at some point during the match.”
Firms queued up to hire Wayne as a pie taster, with Morrisons supermarket gushing: “We were really impressed by his commitment.”
A petition calling for Sutton United to reverse their decision has already attracted nearly 1,000 fans.
It said: “Rotund reserve goalkeeper Wayne Shaw was unjustly sacked.
“Justice must prevail and Wayne must be reinstated to the subs’ bench.”
KEEPER HAD A BIG APPETITE FOR THE CLUB HE ADORED
By BEN HUNT, SunSport Reporter
IT is difficult to think of life at Sutton without Wayne Shaw.
I have spent the past few weeks following the club’s FA Cup run and he has always been there — hardly surprising considering he lived at the ground for three days a week.
He kept the minnows running — whether it was working as a groundsman, cleaning loos, washing the kit or chauffeuring players or staff around.
Wayne had ridden the wave of a crazy FA Cup week.
He’d done interviews from America to Asia and was amazed by the attention he was getting.
Thankfully, he stopped short of doing a naked photoshoot.
At the end of last week he worked out he’d spent only about five hours at home with wife Donna and their two children.
He was either busying himself with preparations for the Arsenal tie or sleeping on the sofa in the club’s media room.
The only time I saw him snap was when £150 and tickets for the match went missing from his wallet.
He wasn’t bothered about the money, but more worried about letting people down whose tickets he was supplying. That said a lot about Wayne.
He told me how a friend had produced “roly-poly goalie chilli sauce”.
When I suggested he should have a stall on match day, he mentioned as an afterthought how all the proceeds were going to a cancer charity.
The same for T-shirts bearing his face.
Wayne played the fool for the baying crowd, enjoyed banter and ultimately paid the price for being himself.
Stars who 'got away with worse'
By CHLOE MAYER
A STRING of rule-breaking football stars have dodged being sacked.
Barcelona forward Luis Suarez has bitten opponents — the latest time at the 2014 World Cup.
The previous year he bit Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic for which he was given a ten-game ban.
But Liverpool, his employers at the time, refused to sack him.
Manchester United striker Eric Cantona infamously launched a kung-fu kick at a fan in 1995.
He was convicted of assault and given community service. Football bosses handed him an eight-month ban but he was not fired.
Chelsea captain John Terry was banned and fined £220,000 after the FA found him guilty of racially abusing QPR’s Anton Ferdinand, despite him being cleared in court.
Joey Barton faces a ban after being accused of placing 1,200 football bets in the past decade.
But he was still allowed to sign for Premier League Burnley.
In 2013 Andros Townsend escaped with a ban for breaking betting rules while playing for Spurs.
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RULES ON TV NOVELTY BETS
BOOKIES were warned last year about novelty bets — but only in relation to pre-recorded TV shows.
Ladbrokes were alerted about suspicious bets on the Great British Bake Off and Strictly Come Dancing, where the winners are known to the live audience and TV crew well in advance of their broadcast.
Industry regulator the Gambling Commission said at the time: “In a world of social media, the outcome is likely to be known to an ever-expanding group.
“We require operators to demonstrate robust management.”
However, novelty bets on live sports are regulated in the same way as regular punts.
Wagers on Wayne Shaw’s pie-eating were limited to £5 maximum bets.