https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/21/sports/soccer/wayne-shaw-sutton-soccer-pie.html?_r=0
(https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/02/22/sports/22sutton-web/22sutton-web-master768.jpg)
QuoteAn English soccer player who enjoyed a meat pie on the sideline during a game was forced to resign on Tuesday after his meal spurred a formal investigation into gambling. The strange tale involves a Cinderella team, a bookmaker eager for publicity and, most important, a portly, middle-aged goalkeeper with a taste for meat and potatoes.
When Sutton United, a small team from the fifth tier of English soccer, met mighty Arsenal in an F.A. Cup fifth-round match on Monday, there was naturally a lot of attention on the game. One of the Sutton players who was singled out for pregame press was Wayne Shaw, as much for his girth as for his talent.
His own team referred to him as the Roly Poly Goalie. He is 46 years old, 6-foot-2 and somewhere around 322 pounds, or 23 stone as the British papers usually put it. Mostly a coach, caretaker and community liaison for the small-time team, he was also its backup goalkeeper.
As a teenager, he played for the professional club Southampton and was on the same team as the soccer legend-turned-BBC broadcaster Alan Shearer. "I actually followed my dreams to the Premier League, and he followed his to the burger van, I think," Shearer said in the pregame BBC coverage of Monday's match.
Bookmakers rushed to provide betting opportunities on the high-profile nationally televised game. In its eagerness to stand out in the competitive industry, the lesser-known company Sun Bets offered lighthearted, but very real, odds of 8-1 that Shaw would eat a pie on the sideline during the match. It was great for a laugh.
Then Shaw actually ate one.
In the 83rd minute of the match, which Arsenal won, 2-0, Shaw, who was not playing, was caught on camera dining on a meat and potato pie on the sideline.
Afterward, he guilelessly confessed that he knew about the bet and had eaten the pie because of it. "I said: 'I don't know. I have eaten nothing all day. So I might give it a go later on,' " he told The Daily Mail.
Shaw said he had not profited from his pie, but knew that others had. "Obviously, we are not allowed to bet," he said, but he acknowledged that "I think a few of the mates and a few of the fans" had.
"You can look back and say it was part of it, and we got our ticket money back," he said.
The trouble is, his dinner could be considered what is called "spot fixing." Most sports-betting scandals around the world these days do not involve throwing an entire game. That requires too many participants and is too easily noted.
Instead, fixers take advantage of the many side bets offered by bookies and arrange for a player to do something small that they can nonetheless bet on: Take a throw-in at a certain time, bogey a specific hole or bowl a cricket ball a certain way.
No one is saying Shaw's act was motivated by a criminal betting syndicate, but his manager, Paul Doswell, told reporters, "I don't think it shows us in the best light."
"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, don't worry about that," said the club chairman, Bruce Elliott, on Radio 5 Live.
On Tuesday, Shaw was forced to resign from the club after the Football Association's gambling commission said it would investigate if consumption of the pie was a breach of betting regulations.
"It's a very, very sad end," Doswell said, adding the club was "very disappointed in how we were portrayed."
Sutton's amazing run to the F.A. Cup round of 16 had been a feel-good story. But many fans felt the team's success had been tainted by the pie story.
"Integrity in sport is not a joke, and we have opened an investigation to establish exactly what happened," the Football Association's enforcement and intelligence director, Richard Watson, told the BBC.
Sun Bets seemed to enjoy the publicity, announcing that it had lost a five-figure sum on the bet and noting that Shaw "finishes his pie with glory."
COST US A BELLY FULL: We've paid out a five-figure sum after @WayneShaw70 finishes his pie with glory! #YouBetcha #FACup pic.twitter.com/XrBCL3psOZ
— Sun Bets (@SunBets) Feb. 20, 2017
Shaw himself, in the midst of his largely cheerful Twitter feed, declared, "It was a pasty, not pie."
.
A pretty strange case.
He knew the bet was there... and eating a pie is something he could choose to do or not. Surely to not eat the pie would be as much fixing as eating it?
What make you?
Already posted in fodbol megathread.
Quote from: Admiral Yi on February 22, 2017, 02:42:39 PM
Already posted in fodbol megathread.
Tyr's posting style has always had a pie in the sky quality to it.
mongers, did you take a lot of hallucinogenics in your youth?
Quote from: Admiral Yi on February 22, 2017, 02:47:04 PM
mongers, did you take a lot of hallucinogenics in your youth?
:hmm:
Quote from: Tyr on February 22, 2017, 02:29:44 PM
A pretty strange case.
He knew the bet was there... and eating a pie is something he could choose to do or not. Surely to not eat the pie would be as much fixing as eating it?
What make you?
I think the problem isn't that he knew about the bet and decided to eat the pie (or not to eat it) - it's that he let a few of his "mates" know he was going to eat it.
IMO the betting house set itself open for abuse and collusion, as the bet was a pretty silly one that could be influenced easily.
Quote from: The Larch on February 22, 2017, 02:58:48 PM
IMO the betting house set itself open for abuse and collusion, as the bet was a pretty silly one that could be influenced easily.
yup
6'2 322lbs? Er...that doesn't seem to be the...ideal size...for a goalie, backup or not. Must be the Jared Lorenzen of the soccer world.
Quote from: MadBurgerMaker on February 22, 2017, 03:08:14 PM
6'2 322lbs? Er...that doesn't seem to be the...ideal size...for a goalie, backup or not. Must be the Jared Lorenzen of the soccer world.
It's a fifth tier team. He's mostly a coach and groundskeeper, but can dress as a goalie if absolutely necessary.
Quote from: Barrister on February 22, 2017, 03:19:53 PM
Quote from: MadBurgerMaker on February 22, 2017, 03:08:14 PM
6'2 322lbs? Er...that doesn't seem to be the...ideal size...for a goalie, backup or not. Must be the Jared Lorenzen of the soccer world.
It's a fifth tier team. He's mostly a coach and groundskeeper, but can dress as a goalie if absolutely necessary.
He was indeed the team's groundskeeper as well.
In a pinch he could serve as a tarp to keep the pitch dry.
In a pinch Katmai could use him as a hat.
Katmai could be used as a retractable roof.
WTF sort of food is this. he's eating a pot pie with his hands
oh my god the google pics are horrible
Quote from: The Larch on February 22, 2017, 02:58:48 PM
IMO the betting house set itself open for abuse and collusion, as the bet was a pretty silly one that could be influenced easily a huge amount of cheap advertising.
I mean, this is the betting arm of the Sun newspaper. They started sponsoring the club immediately before this game. They apparently paid out £80K in bets but got headlines everywhere. It's pretty obvious that they colluded with the keeper and quite possibly the club.
Quote from: LaCroix on February 22, 2017, 08:54:56 PM
WTF sort of food is this. he's eating a pot pie with his hands
oh my god the google pics are horrible
It's just a pasty. :bowler:
Are the accusations of some kind of impropriety serious? Or just part of the gag?
Quote from: Berkut on February 23, 2017, 10:21:02 AM
Are the accusations of some kind of impropriety serious? Or just part of the gag?
He lost his real job over it.
Quote from: Tyr on February 23, 2017, 10:35:55 AM
Quote from: Berkut on February 23, 2017, 10:21:02 AM
Are the accusations of some kind of impropriety serious? Or just part of the gag?
He lost his real job over it.
That seems incredible.
I can understand the idea of someone being fired for throwing a game, or changing how they play the game in an effort to fix the outcome of a bet.
But if you are going to bet on my actions outside the scope of the game entirely, then how can you possibly hold me to account for what I do based on the existence of that bet? It is completely arbitrary, whether I tell my friends about it or not.
If someone bets on whether or not Tom Brady is going to take a piss before half time, does that then compel Brady to take one or not take one based on whether or not he knows about the bet? Does it compel him to NOT tell someone he knows what he is going to do? How can that possibly be an actual rule?
Quote from: Berkut on February 23, 2017, 10:39:29 AM
Quote from: Tyr on February 23, 2017, 10:35:55 AM
Quote from: Berkut on February 23, 2017, 10:21:02 AM
Are the accusations of some kind of impropriety serious? Or just part of the gag?
He lost his real job over it.
That seems incredible.
I can understand the idea of someone being fired for throwing a game, or changing how they play the game in an effort to fix the outcome of a bet.
But if you are going to bet on my actions outside the scope of the game entirely, then how can you possibly hold me to account for what I do based on the existence of that bet? It is completely arbitrary, whether I tell my friends about it or not.
If someone bets on whether or not Tom Brady is going to take a piss before half time, does that then compel Brady to take one or not take one based on whether or not he knows about the bet? Does it compel him to NOT tell someone he knows what he is going to do? How can that possibly be an actual rule?
Part of the problem is the shit journalism about this story. A line like "On Tuesday, Shaw was forced to resign from the club after the Football Association's gambling commission said it would investigate if consumption of the pie was a breach of betting regulations" tells you that the reporter is too lazy to investigate. Shaw "was forced to resign?" Really? Passive voice? Some mysterious power 'forced" him, or did a person that "forced him." if a person, why not say who it was? If it was a mysterious force, why not describe it?
You are, I think, correct to be incredulous that it is somehow illegal for a man to eat a pie, even as part of a public bet. I think most of the problem is in the poor coverage, though.
Quote from: Gups on February 23, 2017, 03:07:18 AM
Quote from: The Larch on February 22, 2017, 02:58:48 PM
IMO the betting house set itself open for abuse and collusion, as the bet was a pretty silly one that could be influenced easily a huge amount of cheap advertising.
I mean, this is the betting arm of the Sun newspaper. They started sponsoring the club immediately before this game. They apparently paid out £80K in bets but got headlines everywhere. It's pretty obvious that they colluded with the keeper and quite possibly the club.
Ok, didn't know that, and it makes it much more conflict of interest-y.
If anyone took the short side of the bet it would be fraud.
It might be fraud anyway, to offer a bet that is not a bet.
Quote from: Admiral Yi on February 24, 2017, 02:35:12 PM
If anyone took the short side of the bet it would be fraud.
It might be fraud anyway, to offer a bet that is not a bet.
The Sun gets a special dispensation in these matters, they did after all win a war for us. :bowler:
Quote from: mongers on February 24, 2017, 03:04:42 PM
Quote from: Admiral Yi on February 24, 2017, 02:35:12 PM
If anyone took the short side of the bet it would be fraud.
It might be fraud anyway, to offer a bet that is not a bet.
The Sun gets a special dispensation in these matters, they did after all win a war for us. :bowler:
Did I miss a war of tits?
Quote from: Tonitrus on February 25, 2017, 06:45:08 AM
Quote from: mongers on February 24, 2017, 03:04:42 PM
Quote from: Admiral Yi on February 24, 2017, 02:35:12 PM
If anyone took the short side of the bet it would be fraud.
It might be fraud anyway, to offer a bet that is not a bet.
The Sun gets a special dispensation in these matters, they did after all win a war for us. :bowler:
Did I miss a war of tits?
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/33/It's_The_Sun_Wot_Won_It.jpg)
Even has it's own page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It's_The_Sun_Wot_Won_It (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It's_The_Sun_Wot_Won_It)
Quote from: Tonitrus on February 25, 2017, 06:45:08 AM
Quote from: mongers on February 24, 2017, 03:04:42 PM
Quote from: Admiral Yi on February 24, 2017, 02:35:12 PM
If anyone took the short side of the bet it would be fraud.
It might be fraud anyway, to offer a bet that is not a bet.
The Sun gets a special dispensation in these matters, they did after all win a war for us. :bowler:
Did I miss a war of tits?
In Britain elections are called (by some) "wars," and both Kinnock and Major are right tits, so, yeah, you could say that you missed a "war of tits."
Am I the only one that tries to look at the BS around me and point it out? Seriously a lot of it is overlooked.
Welcome Alan. Know where I can get some cheap prescription drugs?
Quote from: Admiral Yi on February 26, 2017, 03:13:03 PM
Welcome Alan. Know where I can get some cheap prescription drugs?
Have you looked over the BS that surrounds him? Especially over the overlooked BS?
Quote from: AllanPsype on February 26, 2017, 02:34:21 PM
Am I the only one that tries to look at the BS around me and point it out? Seriously a lot of it is overlooked.
Welcome aboard Allan, with the odd exception we're in general quite a friendly bunch. :)
Even money says he's a bot.
Am I the only one that tries to look at the BS around me and point it out? Seriously a lot of it is overlooked.
(https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--VgfTzNsW--/c_scale,f_auto,fl_progressive,q_80,w_800/18s0y637e1dcijpg.jpg)
The question I have is, what angle is the bot writer working? Just a bored kid trying to get some laughs?
Quote from: Admiral Yi on February 26, 2017, 03:48:31 PM
The question I have is, what angle is the bot writer working? Just a bored kid trying to get some laughs?
I guess some bots try to "establish" themselves as legit posters before doing their spam links?
Quote from: Admiral Yi on February 26, 2017, 03:48:31 PM
The question I have is, what angle is the bot writer working? Just a bored kid trying to get some laughs?
Have you looked over the BS that surrounds him? Especially over the overlooked BS?
I overlook most of the BS.
Quote from: AllanPsype on February 26, 2017, 02:34:21 PM
Am I the only one that tries to look at the BS around me and point it out? Seriously a lot of it is overlooked.
Quote from: AllanPsype on February 26, 2017, 03:42:38 PM
Am I the only one that tries to look at the BS around me and point it out? Seriously a lot of it is overlooked.
(https://media.giphy.com/media/zTp9hK79CQhuo/giphy.gif)
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi0.kym-cdn.com%2Fphotos%2Fimages%2Fnewsfeed%2F000%2F108%2F061%2Flexluthorcakes.jpg%3F1318992465&hash=dd7d80b18ca4163f4538ea077bfef2e47601aae2)