Dave Forsey, the chief executive of Sports Direct, has got a sulk on. He and his fellow directors were "extremely disappointed" to withdraw the resolution that would have handed Mike Ashley, the company's real boss, a £73m incentive share award.

"The most disappointing aspect was where large shareholders gave their support only to vote differently," bleats Forsey, as if an act of great treachery had been visited upon Ashley and Sports Direct.

Pull the other one. Forsey and his chairman, Keith Hellawell, have been banging on for so long about Ashley's supposed need for a megabucks incentive award that it would be no surprise if fund managers offered a sympathetic word or two just to get the duo to shut up.

Political campaigners knocking on doors before an election could tell them that a doorstep pledge of support is not the same as a real vote. Sports Direct's board misread the mood. Tough.

"This outcome is likely to lead to further uncertainty in the future," continues Forsey. Why? Uncertainty will only arise if Forsey, Hellawell and Ashley choose to manufacture some. They have no grounds for doing so.

Outside investors have twice rejected Sports Direct's proposals, judging (one assumes) that Ashley owns 58% of the company, a holding worth £2.75bn, and thus doesn't need extra motivation to work hard. Give it a rest, chaps, the final whistle has blown.