The English Football Association has charged Wayne Shaw, former Sutton keeper, for violating two rules relating to betting and player misconduct, for the incident that branded as ‘Pie Gate’ by UK media.
On 20th of February, Sutton United played against Arsenal for the fifth round of the FA Cup. The match had been broadcasted by the BBC and was sponsored by Sun Bets.
Betting Rules Finished Goalies' Career
The UK bookmaker had almost jokingly offered the ‘Wayne Shaw to eat a pie live on air’ betting market. As we all remember, this came to happen in the 86th minute to the joy and relief of punters who had backed the Sutton reserve goalkeeper at 8/1 odds.
The reaction of UKGC was direct after the incident, by flagging Shaw’s behavior. UKGC stated that the player had breached FA rules relating betting.
The FA charged the player for acting against the FA Rules, E5(a) and E3 (1), that ultimately led to Shaw finally putting his gloves to rest at age 45. The Football Association told Shaw that he must answer to these charges until 6 pm on Friday 21 July 2017 in order to clear his name and avoid been fined.
Wayne Shaw from his part, has stated that the issue got big due to his "robust figure". His most recent nickname had been"Roly Poly Goalie" owing to being 23 stone (150 kgs).
He admitted that he knew about this betting market, but insists that no one in his family or team knew anything of what exactly he intended to do.