Football club laughs off concerns it broke betting rules when its 23-stone player ate a pie mid-match

BBC

‘Roly-poly goalie’ Wayne Shaw.

LONDON — British football minnow Sutton United has laughed off concerns that it broke betting rules when its 23-stone substitute goalkeeper ate what appeared to be a pie during a blockbuster clash with Arsenal on Monday.

The Football Association (FA) has announced that it is investigating Sutton over the incident in which so-called ‘roly-poly goalie’ Wayne Shaw devoured a baked good during the second half of the team’s fifth-round FA Cup tie.

Bookmaker Sun Bets issued odds of 8/1 that Shaw would eat a pie during the live BBC broadcast of the match, which Sutton lost 2-0 to Arsenal, a Premier League side ranked 104 places higher in English football.

After the match at Sutton’s Gander Green Lane, Shaw admitted that a “few of the mates and fans” of the club had placed a bet on his pie eating stunt as a “bit of banter.” He stressed that no players placed bets.

The FA is clear when it comes to betting on football. It states that no player, manager or club staff member “can bet on a match or competition in which they are involved in, or which they can influence.” It adds: “Participants are also prohibited from using or passing inside information for betting.”

An FA spokesman told Business Insider: “We are investigating to establish whether there has been any breach of The FA rules relating to betting.”

But Sutton has played down the concerns. Volunteer media officer Susie Keane told Business Insider that there was no betting, explaining: “They [the players] did not do any gambling. That’s 100% no. It was just a bit of fun.”

She also suggested that any winning bets may be invalid. “Let’s get one thing right: It was a pasty, not a pie,” Keane said.

Who ate all the pies?

Shaw’s mid-game stunt has guaranteed him an overnight celebrity status but he is not the first goalkeeper to become synonymous with pie eating.

That honour belongs to former Sheffield United and Chelsea keeper William ‘Fatty’ Foulke, a larger than life 6-foot 4, 24-stone beast who is as famous for throwing opposition attackers into his own goal and stripping naked to chase after a referee, as he is for his 1899 FA Cup win.

Legend dictates that the infamous ‘Who ate all the pies?’ chant was first sung by Blades fans in 1894 as their goalkeeper Foulke kept piling on the pounds.

✅ Back-up keeper
✅ All three subs made
✅ Time for a pie

Tuck in, Wayne Shaw! #EmiratesFACup http://pic.twitter.com/gjQWLzugVx

— BT Sport Football (@btsportfootball) February 20, 2017

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