West Ham player Lucas Paqueta was formally charged this Thursday by the English Football Association (FA) with deliberately receiving yellow cards in Premier League matches for the purpose of manipulating bets.
The case concerns four games between November 2022 and August 2023, in each of which the Brazilian midfielder received yellow cards.
According to the FA, the West Ham player is accused of breaking two rules set by the country’s highest football body.
“Allegedly, [Lucas Paquetá] directly attempted to influence the proceedings, conduct or any other aspect of these games by deliberately seeking to obtain a card from the referee for the improper purpose of influencing the betting market so that one or more people could profit from them,” the FA said. , in a statement.
The 26-year-old has also been charged with “failure to comply” and has until June 3 to answer the charges.
The Brazilian midfielder took to social media to deny the allegations, saying he would fight “to the best of his ability” to clear his name.
Paqueta also claimed that “for nine months” he cooperated “at every stage of the investigation” and provided “all possible information.”
The London midfielder, who was called up two weeks ago by Dorival Junior to represent Brazil at the Copa America, which starts in June, continued to play for the club while the investigation continued.
The Premier League games in question are against Leicester on November 12, 2022, Aston Villa on March 12, 2023, Leeds on May 21, 2023 and Bournemouth on August 12, 2023.