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wayne quits

Sutton keeper Wayne Shaw resigns after eating a pie in the dug-out during defeat to Arsenal

Shaw was seen eating in the dug-out during the non-league club's FA Cup defeat to Arsenal

For Sutton’s roly-poly reserve goalie Wayne Shaw to be forced into resigning is a nonsense

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SUTTON'S 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.

The 46-year-old, known as the "roly-poly goalie", admitted after the game he knew a bookmaker was offering odds on him being seen eating during the televised fifth-round meeting with the Gunners at Gander Green Lane.

Sutton reserve team goalkeeper Wayne Shaw during the FA Cup tie against Arsenal
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Sutton reserve team goalkeeper Wayne Shaw during the FA Cup tie against ArsenalCredit: Reuters

Shaw was shown on television tucking into 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 told Sky News.

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.
An FA spokesperson said: "We are investigating to establish whether there has been any breach of The FA rules relating to betting."

 

Wayne Shaw applauds the crowd after Sutton had been beaten by Arsenal
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Wayne Shaw applauds the crowd after Sutton had been beaten by ArsenalCredit: Getty Images

The Gambling Commission announced earlier on Tuesday it would be conducting its own investigation into whether Sun Bets had breached its licence requirement by offering such a bet in the first instance.

Richard Watson, the commission's enforcement and intelligence director, said in a statement: ''Integrity in sport is not a joke and we have opened an investigation to establish exactly what happened."

''As part of that we'll be looking into any irregularity in the betting market and establishing whether the operator has met its licence requirement to conduct its business with integrity.''

The Vanarama National League outfit lost 2-0 to Arsenal with Shaw making plenty of headlines in the build-up to the game, although his antics could now prove to sour the occasion for the U's.

He admitted after the match that he believes some people placed money on the 8-1 on offer for him to be shown eating a pie in the dugout.

He 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'.

"As I say Sun Bet had me 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.

"I went and got it at half-time from the kitchen, I had it all prepared and ready to go. It was meat and potato.

"I think there were a few people (who backed it). Obviously we are not allowed to bet.

"I think a few of the mates and a few of the fans. It was just a bit of banter for them. It is something to make the occasion as well and you can look back and say it was part of it and we got our ticket money back."