Hands up, football fans, who didn’t have a good laugh at the antics of Wayne Shaw, Sutton’s Mr Everything including reserve goalkeeper, before and during the FA Cup tie against Arsenal. The roly poly goalie made virtually all of us laugh, especially when he piled into a pasty in the dug out last night. I thought it was the funniest thing I’d seen in ages. And now he’s been caught up in a betting scandal with bookies who were offering 8-1 against him eating a pie in the dug out. No one is laughing now.
Shaw has now resigned and stands to lose everything he loves. There is a good back story too, where his work for the club helped lift him from a deep depression. All indications suggest Shaw got caught up in all the pre match hype and may have got himself involved in something very stupid indeed. To hear that he had been crying down the phone to Sutton boss Paul Doswell made me feel like crying too. We’ve all done very stupid things at times and I hope that this time we can come to a satisfactory conclusion to all concerned.
The FA will have their inquiry and come to their own conclusions. I cannot judge what that conclusion will be because, obviously, I am not in possession of all the evidence – is there any more we don’t know about? – but if it turns out that Wayne Shaw has been guilty of doing nothing other than an act of rank stupidity, I hope there can be a way back for him.
Football, I know, has been tarnished for years by betting scandals but I cannot believe this story is on the same plain. So far as I am aware, there are no mobsters and gangsters involved, just a fat bloke whose heart is usually in the right place.
Yes, it is serious when betting is involved and I know football has a duty to take betting out of the inside of the game. It’s not as if Shaw went on as substitute and threw the ball into his own net – he ate a pasty.
Wayne Shaw was a good story, turned bad. A severe warning and a “don’t do this again” warning should be sufficient. Being stupid is not an excuse but it’s not a crime either. Well, not quite.
