- Lucas Paqueta was charged by the FA for allegedly getting booked deliberately
- The charges relate to four Premier League matches from the 2022-23 season
- Sunday league, grassroots, pub football… how Pep’s influence has trickled down the pyramid – Listen to the It’s All Kicking Off podcast
Lucas Paqueta could reportedly be ‘banned from football for life’ by the Football Association (FA) should he be found guilty of breaching the organisation’s rules on gambling.
It comes as further details of the alleged £100,000 betting operation have now seemingly emerged.
The West Ham forward, 26, is facing a lengthy ban after he was charged by the FA on May 23 for allegedly being deliberately booked during games that took place during the 2022-23 season in an attempt to influence betting markets.
The incidents are alleged to have occurred during Premier League matches against Aston Villa, Leeds, Leicester and Bournemouth, with the FA alleging that Paqueta picked up yellow cards purposefully during those games so he or his friends could profit through betting.
The Brazilian attacking midfielder has strenuously denied any wrongdoing, but it appears, according to The Sun, that the FA’s charge sheet contains a recommendation that Paqueta be banned for life if he is found guilty of the breaches.
Paqueta had until June 3 to respond to the charges made against him, with the FA charging with four breaches of FA Rule E5.1 in relation to his conduct during the above matches.
‘It’s alleged that he directly sought to influence the progress, conduct, or any other aspect of, or occurrence in these matches by intentionally seeking to receive a card from the referee for the improper purpose of affecting the betting market in order for one or more persons to profit from betting,’ the organisation wrote in a statement.
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‘Lucas Paqueta has also been charged with two breaches of FA Rule F3 in respect of alleged failures to comply pursuant to FA Rule F2.’
Rule E5.1 prohibits players from influencing for an ‘improper purpose the result, progress, conduct or any other aspect of a football match or competition’.
The Athletic now claims that the Brazilian’s legal team will request an extension to their June 3 deadline to respond to the charges.
Former Reading defender Kynan Isaac was once handed a 10-year ban from football in 2022 after he was found guilty of receiving a deliberate booking on which his friends had placed bets. An additional 18 months was added for breaching rules on betting matches and he copped an extra year on top of that for a failure to co-operate.
It also comes as Reading’s head of football operations, Mark Bowen was hit by an FA Charge in relation to claims he had placed 95 bets on football matches. The games relate to matches that are not related to The Royals’ own fixtures and were allegedly spread across a period from April 2022 until January this year.
Yet The Sun claims that the FA have argued that Paqueta’s case is more serious, with the outlet revealing the full details of the alleged betting scam.
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They claim that one of the bets placed on the Brazilian to be given a yellow card was ‘worth as little as £7’.
The outlet claims that ’60 people placed bets on Paqueta to be booked in games against Villa, Leeds, Leicester and Bournemouth’ during the 2022-23 season.
The stakes of those bets had ranged from between ‘£7 to £400, leading to a combined winnings of £100,000’.
It had taken the FA nine months to collate the evidence to mount a charge against the forward, with it all beginning back in August 2023.
It came after his £85million move to Manchester City had seemingly collapsed, with Mail Sport breaking the news last August that the FA had launched a probe into Paqueta’s bookings last season.
In fact, Mail Sport wrote in 2023 that it was Betway who had reported suspicious activity to the Football Association that had prompted their investigation.
Tthe bets in question were said to have been traced to Paqueta Island in Guanbara Bay, close to Rio de Janeiro, which is close to where the West Ham footballer had grown up.
The Sun revealed on Monday that Paqueta had also asked not to be included in West Ham’s opening game of the season – a 1-1 draw vs Bournemouth – where he received his first controversial yellow card.
It is claimed the forward was eager to not suffer an injury that may have put a spanner in the works of his move to City.
Mail Sport has contacted the FA and West Ham for comment.