The English Federation (FA) said on Monday (10/02) that will ask for the ban on Lucas Paquetá from professional football in the trial that the athlete will face in March 2025.
MORE: The best VPNs to see live sports in 2025
Paquetá is accused of having taken yellow cards on purpose to manipulate bets. In addition, the player would have obstructed investigations after the federation requested the athlete’s cell phone.
West Ham’s midfielder has been following his activities normally. Paquetá and FA must present their arguments to an independent committee. This committee will define the verdict of the case.
The judgment of appeals will be made by a distinct committee, the Appeals Committee in England. After this stage, the parties involved may file a resource directed to the arbitral court of the sport in Switzerland.
MORE: BETS: What is the relationship between Luiz Henrique, from Botafogo, and if involving Lucas Paquetá
Which PAQUETA punishments can face?
If considered guilty, in best case, Paquetá may take a long suspension. The player Bradley Wood, who had a similar case to what the Brazilian is accused of forcing yellow cards to manipulate bets, received a six -year hook unable to act.
Paquetá’s case, however, is considered more severe than Wood’s, as the West Ham and the Brazilian National Team player is accused of obstructing the investigation.
If it is considered guilty, FA should request the internationalization of the sentence, preventing Paqueta from acting in football in all countries, not being restricted to England alone.
What are the accusations of FA against Lucas Paquetá?
Lucas Paquetá is accused of having formed yellow cards purposely in games against Leicester, Aston Villa, Leeds and Bournemouth, which took place between November 2022 and August 2023.
According to information from the investigations, 60 people in Brazil, in Paquetá Island (RJ), where the player was born, bet that Lucas would receive yellow cards in the investigated games, with bets ranging between 7 and 400 pounds ($ 2,900). The total gains reached £ 100,000 (R $ 723 thousand).
MORE: What did William Rogatto, the king of relegation, said about games manipulated in Brazil
According to The Sun, FA requested Paquetá’s cell phone last year to investigate the case of bets. The federation returned the mobile phone to the Brazilian after two months, after analyzing registration of calls, messages and bank movements.
The federation again requested the device, but Paquetá had gotten rid of the object. Consequently, the FA accuses the player to obstruct the investigation and added two infractions aggravated for lack of cooperation in the event of bets.
Bets: the statement of Lucas Paquetá
Midfielder Lucas Paquetá, from West Ham and the Brazilian National Team, issued a statement on October 17, 2024 in which he claimed to be “upset and frustrated” with FA, the English Federation of Football, in investigating an alleged betting scheme . The player denies the accusations and claims to be the victim of false information leaked by the agency.
According to information from the newspaper “The Sun”, Lucas Paquetá received two new charges from the FA, involving the disappearance of the player’s cell phone. See more details below.
The statement issued by Lucas Paquetá says the following:
– I am frustrated and upset that I have read deceptive and recent press articles, published in England and Brazil, claiming to disclose information about my case. Some of this information is totally false and seem to undermine my position. I am also concerned that, although false and misleading, these articles are clearly originated from an individual near the case. FA procedures must be confidential and are extremely serious for me and my family. The leakage and publication of inaccurate information in the press are now endangering my chance of receiving a fair audience. Therefore, I instructed my lawyers to write to FA to request that they conduct a complete investigation into how information about the case, even if inaccurate, is reaching the public domain. I keep denying the accusations against me and I look forward to showing my innocence.
