West Ham United midfield sensation and Manchester City target Lucas Paqueta is facing sport-fixing charges by the English FA.
The 26-year-old was slammed with charges by the English following months of investigations into allegations of him trying to influence the betting market by intentionally committing fouls to receive yellow cards.
According to reports, the 29-year-old Brazil international intentionally received the yellow cards to aid to shortchange bookmakers and aid his friends win bet.
The FA confirmed charges on Paqueta in a statement which alleged the player had also refused to co-operate with the authorities during investing into the incident.
The charges are linked to matches he played for West Ham United in the 2022-23 campaign against, Bournemouth, Aston Villa, Leeds United and Leicester City.
In each of those matches, he allegedly fouled his opponents intentionally and got the said yellow cards.
In what could be seen as a big twist to the integrity row between the Brazilian and the FA, Paqueta could end up scoring a legal point against the FA.
According to The Sun, in the Bournemouth game on August 2023, Paqueta asked not to play the match because he was grappling with injury.
The report adds it took the intervention of West Ham United hierarchy to convince the midfield maestro to play the game. Former West Ham United, David Moyes, is also said to have considered substituting the player early in the game to prevent aggravation of the injury.
Three minutes into stoppage time, Paqueta got the infamous booking before being later sub off. The FA began their investigation from the yellow card before going ahead to investigate Aston Villa, Leeds United, and Leicester City matches.
While this narrative, as reported by The Sun puts Paqueta on a vantage position amidst the charges, it is yet unclear how it could influence the outcome of investigations.
The case will be referred to the independent commission for deliberation and decision. Paqueta has denied the allegations but could face a possible 10-year ban if found guilty.
