Sutton to bring 'roly-poly' goalie down to earth following Arsenal stunt

Wayne Shaw had his pie and ate it. Credit: PA

Sutton have promised that reserve goalkeeper Wayne Shaw will be brought "back down to earth" after he enjoyed five minutes of fame by eating a pie on the substitutes' bench during Monday night's glamour FA Cup tie against Arsenal.

The 46-year-old, known as the 'roly-poly goalie', pulled off the publicity stunt after all three substitutions had been made - allegedly on behalf of a bookmaking company.

The actions of 20-stone Shaw, however, did not seem to impress the club's hierarchy.

Speaking on BBC 5 Live, chairman Bruce Elliott said: "If you knew the roly-poly goalkeeper you probably wouldn't be very surprised. But Wayne is a top man.

"I didn't know anything about it. 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."

Prior to the game, a bookmaker had offered a price of 8-1 to Shaw eating a pie "live on air" during the match, but Shaw denied that he or any of his team-mates had placed a bet.

Speaking to the Independent, Shaw said: "A few of the lads said to me earlier on, 'What is going on with the 8-1 about eating a pie?' I said, 'I don't know, I've eaten nothing all day, so I might give it a go later on'."

"As I say what is that? Sun Bets had us 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."

Manager Paul Doswell, who also employs Shaw as part of his coaching team, said: "Wayne has become a global superstar on the back of being 20st.

"He's made that a chance to get more media coverage off the back of it. It wouldn't surprise me. I don't think it shows us in the best light."