What a problem for West Ham! After parting ways with David Moyes and appointing former Real Madrid coach Joan Lopeteagui as the new head coach, they are now in serious danger of being deprived of one of their key players. The FA charged Lucas Paqueta for deliberate booking in top-flight matches against Leicester, Aston Villa, Leeds and Bournemouth so that either he and/or his friends could profit from bets placed on him being carded. The player denied all charges and cooperated with the authorities, even giving them permission to check his phone. Still, he is in for a hefty punishment if he is found guilty. Former Reading defender Kynan Isaac was given a career-ending 10-year ban from football for the same offence three years ago. What got the FA interested in the first place were integrity officers who had spotted an unusual amount of betting activity on bookings, much of it traced to Paqueta Island, off the coast of Rio de Janeiro. The Brazilian is not charged with betting himself like Ivan Toney, who received an eight-month ban, but due to these charges, his potential 80 million pounds transfer to Manchester City is now finished.pic.twitter.com/Z5yRycsPnA— Lucas Paquetá (@LucasPaqueta97) May 23, 2024 Paqueta has been charged with four breaches of FA rules in relation to his conduct in West Ham’s Premier League matches against Leicester in November 2022, Aston Villa in March 2023, Leeds in May 2023 and Bournemouth in August 2023. The 26-year-old has also been charged with two further breaches in respect of alleged failures to “comply pursuant to FA Rule F2″. Paqueta was interviewed by the FA in September and gave the English game’s governing body access to his phone. The FA investigation started after suspicious betting patterns surrounding Paqueta’s booking for shoving Bournemouth’s Illia Zabarnyi in the closing minutes of a 1-1 draw on the opening day of this season.”West Ham United’s Lucas Paqueta has been charged with misconduct in relation to alleged breaches of FA Rules E5 and F3. 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” reads the FA statement.Paqueta to Manchester City – take two! This time it could be a 100,000,000 euros atemptThe Brazilian, who was given time until June 3rd to deny charges, was quick to announce his innocence on his Instagram account.”I am extremely surprised and upset that the FA has decided to charge me. For nine months, I have co-operated with every step of their investigation and provided all the information I can. I deny all the charges in their entirety and will fight with every breath to clear my name. Due to the ongoing process, I will not be providing any further comment” he wrote. His club also published a short statement in which they acknowledged the charges made by the FA and vowed to help their player prove his innocence.##NAJAVA_MECA_8117803##
