A gambling scandal has struck English soccer, and like most good scandals, it involves pie.
On Monday, Arsenal scored a 2-0 win over Sutton United in the fifth round of the FA Cup, the annual competition between teams from all levels of English soccer. It was an expected result: Arsenal is a traditional power, currently sitting tied for third in the Premier League standings. Sutton United competes in the fifth-tier National League, which features a mix of full-time and semiprofessional clubs.
But hereโs the controversy: As the game wound down, Sutton backup goalkeeper and assistant coach Wayne Shaw was shown on the sideline eating some sort of pie. Shaw was aware that one English bookmaker was offering 8-to-1 odds against him eating a pie on the bench, and so he ate pie on the bench.
โA few of the lads said to me earlier on: โWhat is going on with the 8-1 about eating a pie?โ I said: โI donโt know, Iโve eaten nothing all day, so I might give it a go later on,โ โ Shaw told the Guardian. โSun Bets had us at 8-1 to eat a pie. I thought I would give them a bit of banter and letโs do it. All the subs were on and we were 2-0 down.
โI went and got it at halftime from the kitchen, I had it all prepared and ready to go. It was meat and potato.โ
Shaw admitted that he maybe knew that people were going to be betting on whether he would eat some pie during the game.
โI think there were a few people. Obviously we are not allowed to bet. I think a few of the mates and a few of the fans,โ he said. โIt 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.โ
And while he indeed was not allowed to bet, he does appear to be in violation of FA rules that prohibit players from enabling โany person to bet on (i) the result, progress, conduct or any other aspect of, or occurrence in, a football match or competition.โ On Tuesday, Sutton announced Shawโs resignation.
Sutton Chairman Bruce Elliott attempted to distance himself from the controversy while also saying heโs hardly surprised by Shawโs antics.
โIf you knew the roly-poly goalkeeper, you probably wouldnโt be very surprised,โ he told BBC 5. โBut Wayne is a top man. I didnโt know anything about it. He has got himself in the papers again and the fame obviously has gone to his head a little bit, but we will soon bring him back down to earth, donโt worry about that.โ
