FA Cup 2016/2017
- Thread starter Seth
- Start date
And just to cap it off, the BBC is now reporting that the FA are investigating Shaw's pie-eating as a possible betting scandal after it emerged that a bookies had made a 5-figure payout for bets that he would do just that live on camera during the game.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39037401
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39037401
That's ridiculous. Him eating pies had no effect on the outcome. That's like investigating if Jose doesn't yell at the refs during a match - I'm sure bets are placed in that.
I thought the same thing initially, but he pretty much said in post-game comments that he knew the bet was out there, and he thought it would be funny if he did it.
Of course no way in hell this had any impact on the game, but his post-game comments definitely deserve some attention.
"I said, 'I don't know, I have eaten nothing all day so I might give it a go later on.' As I say Sun Bet had me at 8-1 to eat a pie. I thought I would give them a bit of banter and let's do it. All the subs were on and we were 2-0 down.
"I went and got it at half-time from the kitchen, I had it all prepared and ready to go. It was meat and potato.
"I think there were a few people [who backed it]. Obviously we are not allowed to bet.
"I think [it was] a few of the mates and a few of the fans. It was just a bit of banter for them. It is something to make the occasion as well and you can look back and say it was part of it and we got our ticket money back."
The FBI should then investigate Lady Gaga for singing God Bless America as the first song, and President H.W. Bush for having the Falcons win the coin toss, right? RIGHT?!?!
OK, the only way I could see this being an actual problem is if he was subbed on, had bet on his team losing, and was eating the pie on the field.
The travesty of a non-league backup player resigning from what amounts to a pub league team for him.... literally...
The point is, footballers all sign a clause when they register with the FA to say that they won't place ANY bets on football (regardless of whether it's to do with their team or not) and they won't do anything to influence a bet. Whether or not the bet is to do with a goal, full-time result or cramming a pie in your gob, it's all the same - the FA's stated opinion is that footballers are role-models and the slightest infringement or incident which could be seen as casting the game or its players in a negative light is unacceptable and must be punished.
It might sound like a bit of fun, but the thing you have to consider is that the FA will be looking at worst-case scenarios, and it may seem unlikely but a professional footballer is in the position of being able to arrange deals with big gamblers. One bookie has already announced (as I said above? can't be bothered to check) that they made a five-figure payout on the outcome. What if it were to come out that he had agreed to receive a quarter of the payout from a gambler he knew would put £5,000 on it? At the end of the day, we can't be sure that that didn't actually even happen...
I agree it's crazy and seems an overreaction, but that's the situation you have to deal with. It also starts to seem like less of an overreaction when you hear that there are rumours that match-fixers in South-East Asian countries routinely target English non-league games for seemingly innocuous bets such as whether certain players will get injured or whether there will be a corner in the Xth minute, because they are cheap to fix and because the level of information required to making the bets is available where it isn't anywhere else in the world. When you realise the amount of resources the FA has to put into chasing ghosts like that, you start to appreciate why they tend to come down like a ton of bricks on someone who visibly does something like this.
It might sound like a bit of fun, but the thing you have to consider is that the FA will be looking at worst-case scenarios, and it may seem unlikely but a professional footballer is in the position of being able to arrange deals with big gamblers. One bookie has already announced (as I said above? can't be bothered to check) that they made a five-figure payout on the outcome. What if it were to come out that he had agreed to receive a quarter of the payout from a gambler he knew would put £5,000 on it? At the end of the day, we can't be sure that that didn't actually even happen...
I agree it's crazy and seems an overreaction, but that's the situation you have to deal with. It also starts to seem like less of an overreaction when you hear that there are rumours that match-fixers in South-East Asian countries routinely target English non-league games for seemingly innocuous bets such as whether certain players will get injured or whether there will be a corner in the Xth minute, because they are cheap to fix and because the level of information required to making the bets is available where it isn't anywhere else in the world. When you realise the amount of resources the FA has to put into chasing ghosts like that, you start to appreciate why they tend to come down like a ton of bricks on someone who visibly does something like this.
It was a "novelty bet" with a £5 cap. The most anybody could win was £40
