Oldham Cup hero pays for losing his shirt

LONDON (AFP) –

Oldham Athletic’s English striker Matt Smith celebrates scoring his late equalizing goal during the fifth round FA Cup football match between Oldham Athletic and Everton at Boundary Park in Oldham on February 16, 2013. The game finished 2-2.

Matt Smith was fined a week’s wages on Monday for throwing his shirt into the crowd after scoring cash-strapped League One side Oldham’s injury-time equaliser against Premier League outfit Everton on Saturday in their FA Cup fifth round clash.

The club had warned players not to swap shirts with their Premier League opponents — not because of bad sportsmanship but because they simply cannot afford to buy any new kit.

But the 23-year-old striker, who scored twice in the previous round when Oldham shocked Everton’s city rivals Liverpool, was so happy at scoring to make it 2-2 that he completely forgot and hurled his shirt into the crowd, an impulsive gesture which has cost him a fine of around £400.

The goal earned a replay at Everton on February 27.

The club are also desperately trying to find the person who caught the shirt as they would like to have it back.

A sign on the dressing room before the match said: “Please be advised that due to a severe shortage of first team home shirts, players must not give away their kit following the conclusion of the Everton match.”

One of his team-mates Jose Baxter, who swapped his shirt with Leighton Baines, told the Daily Mail: “We all got carried away and didn’t really think about the notice. I just hope we’ve got enough kit for Tuesday (when they have a league game with Stevenage).”

Meanwhile a club source told the Daily Star: “There is an automatic fine system in place for misplaced pieces of the kit.”