This Pro Soccer Goalie Drank with Fans and Ate Pie During a Game
Lots of professional athletes have been brought down by ingesting a prohibited substance. They’ve had to forfeit titles, been handed hefty fines and suspensions, or even unceremoniously cut by their clubs.
And in the case of Sutton United’s now-ex-backup goalie Wayne Shaw, it’s pretty hard to argue with the visual evidence. Considering he was caught red-handed during his team’s 2-0 loss to Arsenal on Monday.
Except, in this case, the substance in question was a meat pie. Well, meat and potato, to be exact.
A 46-year-old, 280-pound reserve goalkeeper, who also doubled as the fifth-tier English club’s stadium caretaker, Shaw quickly rose to legend status: as Sutton made their fairytale run to the fifth round of the FA Cup, the goalie was busy throwing back pints with fans during half-time.
I kid you not. Sutton reserve keeper Wayne Shaw is in the bar at half-time. pic.twitter.com/f7014pXRBP
— Chris Slegg (@ChrisSlegg) February 20, 2017
Then, Pie-gate happened.
The problem, it appears, isn’t that the heavy-set backup was caught eating on the bench. (That’s practically a time-honoured sporting tradition.) It’s that a betting company was offering 8-1 odds that he’d been seen doing exactly that. And in the eyes of the FA’s Gambling Commission watchdog, Shaw’s mid-game snack compromised the “integrity” of the game.
That’s right. A nearly 300-pound benchwarmer ate a meat pie on live TV as a joke, ruining a dumb prop bet, and it’s being treated with all the seriousness of a points shaving scandal. So, just remember kids, there’s no “I” in team. And there’s no fun in the FA Cup.
