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'Piegate' Effect: Four unfortunate cases in sport

The football community was both intrigued and bemused by the activity in the FA Cup earlier this ...



'Piegate' Effect: Four...
Soccer

'Piegate' Effect: Four unfortunate cases in sport

The football community was both intrigued and bemused by the activity in the FA Cup earlier this week.

Sutton United were dumped out of the competition by Arsenal on a 2-0 margin, but while it should have been a memorable evening for the club for their progress in the competition, it will be remembered for a less savory reason.

Reserve goalkeeper Wayne Shaw was seen eating a pie on the sidelines, while the game was still being played. It later transpired that Shaw was aware of betting odds being offered that he would seen eating the pie on television. His actions ultimately resulted in him submitting his resignation from the club.

Shaw was previously released by the club in 2013, as a result of a clash with opposition fans ahead of a game.

Shaw reportedly climbed over the advertising boards surrounding the pitch and confronted fans after he was verbally abused.

This isn't the first time an athlete's career has been compromised by an embarrassing incident.

Trevor Brennan - Attacking a fan in the crow

Former Irish rugby player Trevor Brennan was issued a lifetime ban for repeatedly striking a fan in the crowd during a Heineken Cup clash between his club Toulouse and Ulster.

Brennan claims his actions were provoked by a group of Ulster fans, who he said made vile comments about his mother, while he was warming up on the sideline.

The Kildare native apologised for his outburst and later had his lifetime ban reduced to five years, following an appeal.

Pete Rose - Betting violations

Former baseball player Pete Rose was issued a lifetime ban in 1989 after it was revealed he was placing bets on games while playing for the Cincinnati Reds following an investigation.

Rose denied the allegations for some 15 years after being banned and was denied reinstatement into the game due to evidence of continued gambling, in 2015.

Rose retired as a player and one of the greatest batters in the sport. He was managing the Cincinnati Reds when his gambling violations came to light.

Ryan Lochte - Gas station incident

The 2016 Olympic Games featured several bleak incidents and USA swimmer Ryan Lochte, is responsible for one of them.

What started out as a disturbing story about Olympians being held at gunpoint, descended into an embarrassing tale about indecency.

Lochte's side of the story alleges that individuals posing as police officers stopped a taxi containing the 32-year-old and other members of the American swimming team.

The athletes were supposedly told to hand over their money and other belongings, but were allowed to keep their phones and Olympic credentials. 

But the police officials in Rio were not convinced of his account of the incident.

Following an investigation, it emerged that Lochte and his party were not robbed and were actually found to have vandalised a gas station in an intoxicated state.

The owner of the gas station was quoted as saying the swimmers urinated on the wall.

Lochte denied those allegations, but did apologise for omitting some of the details when describing what happened.

He was given a 10-month ban, meaning he will miss this year's World Championships. 

Tonya Harding - Conspired to have a rival attacked

Prior to the 1994 Winter Olympic Games, and with the assistance of her ex-husband Jeff Gillooly, US figure skater Tonya Harding hired a man to attack rival competitor Nancy Kerrigan, who Harding saw as a threat to her medal aspirations.

He struck Kerrigan on the knee with an iron bar.

Despite Harding's intentions of inflicting an injury that would keep her opponent out of the Olympics, Kerrigan recovered in time for the '94 Games where she won a silver medal.

The United States Olympic Committee considered dropping Kerrigan from the Olympic team, but Kerrigan threatened to sue if they removed her.

She later admitted to knowledge of the attack, which resulted in her being banned for life. She was also stripped of a gold medal she won at the 1994 US Championships.

This bizarre tale is due to be made into a film called I, Tonyaand will star Margot Robbie of The Wolf Of Wall Street.

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