MADRID, 23 May. (EUROPA PRESS) –
West Ham’s Brazilian midfielder Lucas Paqueta was accused this Thursday by the FA, the English Football Association, of participating in illegal betting and conditioning the markets by deliberately exposing himself to yellow cards.
The FA confirmed the progress of its long investigation in a statement in which it warns that Paqueta “directly sought to influence the matches by intentionally seeking to receive a card from the referee with the improper purpose of affecting the betting market so that one or more people benefit.”
The footballer, who joined West Ham in 2022 from Lyon and has been wanted by Manchester City, claimed to be “extremely surprised” in a statement he published on the ‘X’ social network. The Brazilian noted that he has been collaborating with the FA for nine months and that he “denies the charges in their entirety.”
The evidence found by the English Federation is from four games, between 2022 and 2023, within an investigation that began last summer, when Paqueta’s signing for City no longer came to fruition. The 26-year-old Brazilian claimed that he will fight “until his last breath” to clear his name.