Lucas Paqueta’s four bookings which could see West Ham star banned as spot-fixing trial starts
Lucas Paqueta faces years on the sidelines should he be found guilty of spot-fixing by the FA as his trial officially gets underway this week.
The West Ham star, who denies wrongdoing, is under investigation in both the UK and Brazil for ‘spot-fixing’, having been accused of picking up four deliberate yellow cards.
Each offence carries a six-month to a lifetime ban, with his hearing beginning on Monday and is expected to last three weeks.
Former Reading defender Kynan Isaac was hit with a ten-year ban in 2022 for his part in spot-fixing following his yellow card in an FA Cup tie against Shrewsbury.
Paqueta’s four bookings were picked up in four Premier League games, against Leicester in 2022, plus Leeds, Aston Villa, and Bournemouth the following year – for which the FA claim ‘one or more persons’ benefited from financially.
The 27-year-old, who first came under the FA’s spotlight in August 2023 for breaching betting rules, has denied any wrongdoing in an impassioned social media post.
Following his FA charge last year, his four bookings did the rounds on social media.
The first came against the Foxes in the 2022/23 season at the London Stadium, where he wiped out Boubakary Soumare, before immediately clattering into Dennis Praet on the hour mark.
In March 2023, the former Lyon playmaker was then cautioned for a poor challenge from behind on Villa skipper John McGinn.
And in the penultimate Premier League clash of the 22/23 season against Leeds, he was shown a yellow for pulling back Dutch forward Crysencio Summerville in the 65th minute.
His booking in the opening match of last season at Bournemouth is the final of the four, with Paqueta receiving a yellow for handball in stoppage time.
In an FA statement last May, it was alleged Paqueta ‘directly sought to influence the progress’ by intentionally receiving a booking ‘for the improper purpose of affecting the betting market in order for one or more persons to profit from betting.’
Paqueta gave evidence to the Brazilian Senate Commission, but despite being ‘suspected of game manipulation’ by Brazilian investigators according to a 629-page commission report, he will face no further action in the South American country.
The Brazilian inquiry is separate from the one in the UK, with the Hammers talisman’s FA hearing regarding the charges now underway.
Paqueta has withdrawn from the Brazil squad for World Cup qualifiers against Colombia and Argentina this month to be available to give evidence.
Speaking exclusively to talkSPORT last month, South American football expert Tim Vickery revealed a key piece of evidence has claimed that one of his bookings – the one picked up against Aston Villa on March 12 2023 – was a ‘birthday present’ to his brother Matheus.
Vickery told The Trans Euro Express on talkSPORT: “The alleged ringleader of the organiser of this alleged betting scheme is Paquita’s uncle, Bruno Tolentino, who was called to give evidence in front of this commission of inquiry and took the fifth. He wouldn’t answer any of the questions [in Brazil’s Congress].
“The report has come out. It was a dual scheme where allegedly Paqueta was picking up yellow cards for West Ham and Luis Henrique, the winger, was picking up yellow cards for Betis.
