West Ham United’s Lucas Paqueta finds himself in choppy waters after the Football Association (FA) officially charged him with alleged breaches of betting regulations.
The charges relate to four instances where Paqueta allegedly received deliberate yellow cards against Leicester City, Aston Villa, Leeds and Bournemouth in 2022 and 2023. The Brazilian winger had denied all charges.
“I am extremely surprised and upset that the FA have decided to charge me,“ Paqueta said in a statement. “For nine months, I have co-operated with every step of their investigation and provided all the information I can. I deny the charges in their entirety and will fight with every breath to clear my name.”
What happens if Paqueta is found guilty?
According to reports, if the winger is found guilty, he can face a ban of up to 10 years.
Former Reading defender Kynan Isaac was proven guilty of similar charges which earned him a ban from football for a decade after deliberately getting booked while playing for Stratford Town in an FA Cup first-round match against Shrewsbury three years ago.
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Receiving deliberate bookings is directly correlated with aiding bookies, which relates to spot-fixing - something that is strictly prohibited in all sports.
What do the FA guidelines say?
Paqueta is expected to come up with a response and failing to do so, will make him noncompliant with the FA rule F2 (which allows the FA to require any participant to attend and answer questions and provide documents, information, or other materials upon reasonable notice).
The West Ham player has also been accused of two breaches of FA regulation F3, which constitutes misconduct. He was interrogated by the FA last September, after which the Brazilian allowed access to his phone..
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Paqueta has until June 3 2024 to address the accusations against him. A disciplinary hearing is expected to follow.
Premier League players who recently got bans for betting-related offences
Ivan Toney (Brentford): An independent commission banned Toney for eight months in May last year after he admitted to 232 counts of breaking the FA’s rules on betting. Toney’s offences took place over four years from 2017 to 2021. It also earned him a fine of 50,000 pounds.
“The Brentford FC forward was charged with 262 breaches of FA Rule E8 in total between 25 February 2017 and 23 January 2021. The FA subsequently withdrew 30 of these breaches and he admitted to the remaining 232.
Ivan Toney of Brentford looks on during the Premier League match between Brentford FC and Newcastle United at Brentford Community Stadium on May 19, 2024, in Brentford, England. | Photo Credit: Getty Images
“His sanctions were subsequently imposed by an independent Regulatory Commission following a personal hearing. He is permitted to return to training only with his club for the final four months of his suspension starting from 17 September 2023.
“The independent Regulatory Commission’s written reasons for these sanctions will be published in due course, and The FA will wait to review them before commenting further,“ said the FA in its official statement.
Sandro Tonali (Newcastle United): Newcastle midfielder Sandro Tonali was given a suspended two-month ban for breaching betting rules, the FA said on Thursday.
Tonali is already serving a 10-month ban issued by the Italian federation for betting on teams he played for, which has ruled him out of action since October.
FILE - Newcastle’s Sandro Tonali applauds as he leaves the pitch during the Champions League Group F soccer match between AC Milan and Newcastle at the San Siro stadium in Milan, Italy, on Sept. 19, 2023. | Photo Credit: AP
The FA said Tonali admitted to breaching its rules on 50 occasions by placing bets on matches last year from August 12 to October 12. He self-reported these breaches on October 20 and admitted to betting on four Newcastle matches — three of which he was involved in — but always on his team to win.
An independent regulatory commission sanctioned 23-year-old Tonali with a two-month ban that was suspended until the end of next season “pending any further breaches” of the betting rules as well as a 20,000 pounds ($25,000) fine and warning.
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