Keeper’s pie consumption sparks UKGC, FA betting probes

A football goalkeeper’s consumption of a meat-and-potato pie on live television has sparked a UK Gambling Commission inquiry.

This weekend, UK sports fans were treated to the sight of Sutton United reserve keeper Wayne Shaw riding the pine during his team’s FA Cup match against Arsenal. At one point late in the match, the 23-stone (322 lb.), 45-year-old Shaw can be clearly seen consuming a meat pie.

Trouble is, Sun Bets, the UK-licensed online betting brand of Australian wagering operator Tabcorp, had a prop betting market offering 8:1 odds that Shaw would indeed eat a pie during the game. Sun Bets had also sponsored Sutton for the match.

Shaw later told the media that he was aware of the Sun Bets market and that, while he himself didn’t place a bet, “a few of the mates and a few of the fans” may have wagered that he would eat as advertised. Shaw claimed that he’d only decided to eat the pie once his team had made all its substitutions.