Midfielder Lucas Paquetá was acquitted on Thursday (31) in the case investigating the suspicion of participation in Premier League’s departure handling scheme to favor gamblers.
In May 2024, West Ham’s 27 -year -old had been charged with Football Association (FA) of forcing yellow cards in four English championship matches in 2022 and 2023.
“An independent regulatory committee concluded that accusations of misconduct against Lucas Paquetá of West Ham United for alleged violations of FA rule E5 were not proven,” the federation said in a statement published Thursday.
The player formed at Flamengo base published a note on social networks in which he celebrated the decision and thanked his family and his club for his support.
“From the first day of this investigation, I kept my innocence against these extremely serious accusations. I can’t say anything else right now, but I would like to express how grateful I am to God and how much I look forward to playing football with a smile on my face,” said Paquetá.
“To my wife who has never released my hand, West Ham United, the fans who always supported me, and my family, friends and legal staff who supported me – offered by everything,” he added.
He was denounced under the rule E5.1 of the English Federation Competition Regulations, which says that the player “should not directly or indirectly try to influence, for improper purposes, the result, progress, conduct or any other aspect in connection with a game or competition.”
The games in which the athlete would have received a purpose card were against Leicester (November 12, 2022), Aston Villa (March 12, 2023), Leeds (May 21, 2023) and Bournemouth (August 12, 2023).
The English Federation denunciated that Lucas Paquetá “sought directly influenced the progress, conduct or any other aspect or occurrence in these matches, intentionally seeking to receive a referee card for the purpose inappropriate to affect the betting market for one or more people to profit from betting.”
Despite the decision innocenting Paquetá, the regulatory committee considered proven accusations of misconduct against the player for alleged violations of the F3 rule of FA, due to alleged failures to fulfill the obligations to answer questions and provide information to the investigation.
The commission will still decide an appropriate sanction for these violations the “as soon as possible”.
The federation also said that “awaits the written justifications of the regulatory committee regarding its decisions about the accusations and will no longer make comments until this moment.”
The Federation can still appeal the decision taken by an independent committee with the CAS (Arbitral Corte of Sport).
Paquetá arrived at West Ham in 2022 for 43 million pounds coming from Lyon.
Due to the process, negotiations for his transfer to Manchester City were frustrated, and the midfielder even cried on the pitch after receiving a yellow card from the referee in match against Tottenham. He was replaced seven minutes later.
Lucas Paquetá Career
- Flemish (2016 to 2019) – 95 games, 18 goals and 8 assists
- Milan (2019 and 2020) – 44 games, 1 goal and 3 assists
- Lyon (2020 to 2022) – 80 games, 21 goals and 13 assists
- West Ham (current club) – 120 games, 18 goals and 14 assists
- Brazilian (debut in 2018) – 55 games and 11 goals
- Total value of the three transfers: 104.35 million euros (R $ 676 million, in the current price)
- Main titles: Copa America (Brazilian National Team), Conference League (West Ham), Carioca Championship and São Paulo Cup (Flamengo)
Fountain: transfer market
Paquetá continued to work normally by the Premier League team, but was cut from the Brazilian team by then coach Fernando Diniz, when the complaints came to public.
He was again called to national formation in 2024, with the arrival of Dorival Júnior.
Other cases
Former Botafogo Luiz Henrique, also with recent calls for the Brazilian National Team and today at Russia’s Zenit, and Bruno Henrique, from Flamengo, were other athletes who had their names recently involved with the growing suspicions around the football betting market.
Lower projection athletes have also received punishments for participation in betting schemes, ranging from temporary suspension to banishment of football, the result of the maximum operation, MP-GO (Public Prosecutor of Goiás).
The red-black striker was reported in June by the MP-DF (Federal District Public Prosecutor) for crimes of estelionate and sports fraud.
According to the Federal Police investigation, he would have shared early information about receiving a yellow card in a 2023 Brazilian Championship match to benefit a sports betting scheme.
If convicted, maximum penalties can reach up to 17 years and eight months in prison. The MP-DF also asked Bruno Henrique to pay $ 2 million for collective moral damages.
When he was indicted in April, Bruno Henrique’s defense said the athlete “was never involved in a betting scheme.”
Luiz Henrique is the subject of investigation in Spain for alleged involvement with a “criminal organization dedicated to manipulating results in sports bets”.
The name of the striker appeared in a 2023 report of Sportsradar, a company that monitors suspicious betting movements, because of an unusual volume of married bets: he, then in Betis, Spain, and Lucas Paquetá, in West Ham, would receive yellow cards in their matches, which actually occurred.
According to UOL, family members of Paquetá made transfers of R $ 40 thousand to Luiz Henrique, days later.
The player also denied that he participated in the betting scheme. “I think they want to erase my brightness, but I know they won’t make it. I know God is with me, my family is with me, and none of this is happening,” he said.
In Brazilian football, players who, according to the investigation of MP-GO, agreed to participate in the schemes were suspended temporary, case of defender Eduardo Bauermann and striker Alef Manga. They received 360 -day suspensions and today act by Pachuca, from Mexico, and Avaí, respectively.
Those who participated and also sought to entice other athletes received harder sentence, with the ban on the sport, case of Marcos Vinicius Alves Barreira, former Vila Nova, Ygor Catatau (Sampaio Corrêa), Gabriel Tota (Youth) and Matheus Phillipe (Pottery).
