Posted on: August 19, 2024, 06:39h.
Last updated on: August 19, 2024, 10:20h.
The English Premier League kicked off for a new season this past weekend, but soccer fans may have been surprised to see Brazilian midfielder Lucas Paqueta starring for West Ham on Saturday despite the serious charges of spot-fixing hanging over him.
Paqueta looked sharp and even scored a penalty equalizer in the game against Aston Villa, which Villa ended up winning 2-1.
In May, the Brazil star was charged by England’s Football Association (FA) with deliberately seeking to “receive a card from the referee for the improper purpose of affecting the betting market.”
The seriousness of these charges is unprecedented in English football and, if proven, they are potentially career-ending for the 26-year-old.
But sources who spoke to The Times of London recently suggested Paqueta is likely to be eligible to play for West Ham for most, if not all, of this season.
The player denies the charges and will be permitted to play until the disciplinary process is complete. Such is the complexity of the case that it’s likely to drag on until late 2025, the sources said.
What is Paqueta Accused of?
The FA launched an investigation in August 2023 following reports of suspicious betting patterns around an injury-time yellow card Paqueta received in West Ham’s draw at Bournemouth on Aug 12, 2023.
The probe later expanded to include bookings received in three additional games — against Leicester City on Nov. 12, 2022, Aston Villa on March 12, 2023, and Leeds United on May 21, 2023.
Spot-fixing refers to the manipulation of betting markets on a small aspect of a game, such as yellow cards, by a single player, rather than a larger conspiracy to fix the actual result.
Some of the bets were placed in Duque de Caxias, a city on Brazil’s Guanabara Bay. Paqueta was born and raised on Paqueta Island in Guanabara Bay. His real name is Lucas Tolentino Coelho de Lima, but he adopted “Paqueta” as a tribute to his birthplace.
Other bets were placed with West Ham sponsor Betway, which doesn’t take bets in Brazil. Paqueta hasn’t been charged with placing bets himself, but people close to him are suspected of doing so.
City Deal Dead
Last summer, Paqueta was lined up for a high-profile move to EPL champion Manchester City in a deal that was reportedly worth $85 million. The deal imploded with news of the FA investigation.
Meanwhile, the FA has granted Paqueta’s lawyers an extension to respond to the charges, which will include gathering crucial documents and witness statements, a process that will likely take months to complete.
Paqueta has vowed to “fight with every breath to clear my name.”
