The real reason the FA have charged West Ham star Lucas Paqueta means it’s certainly not curtains yet for the Brazilian.
Having waited for weeks to make it official, on the day West Ham unveiled Julen Lopetegui they were hit with a hammer blow by the FA.
Lopetegui had barely finished outlining his plans and ambitions for the Hammers when the Football Association announced they are charging Lucas Paqueta.
Only at West Ham.
In a statement on Thursday, an FA spokesman confirmed Paqueta has been charged with misconduct in relation to alleged breaches of FA Rules E5 and F3.
Paqueta has been playing under a dark cloud since the serious allegations – which he refuted again yesterday – emerged
West Ham’s £51m record signing has had the FA and FIFA investigation over alleged involvement in illegal betting hanging over his head since it emerged last summer, scuppering an £85m move to Man City.
There had been rumour and speculation that the charges against Paqueta were going to be dropped.
Hammers star hit by charge
And that would pave the way for Man City to resurrect the move, raising vital funds for Lopetegui and Tim Steidten’s West Ham rebuild.
So the news he is being charged for offences which could see Paqueta banned or even jailed if found guilty, is a bitter blow to all parties.
Reading some of the reporting around the subject since the charges were announced, though, Paqueta is already being labelled guilty with The Guardian rather sensationally claiming ‘West Ham fear his career could be over’.
But this is the real reason the FA charged West Ham star Paqueta and it’s not curtains yet.
Earlier this month it emerged that the FA had until the end of the season to charge Paqueta or they must drop the case.
That was confirmed by Hammers board insider Sean Whetstone, who said: “The FA faces a potential legal lawsuit if they fail to meet that deadline or charge the player without any credible evidence.”
Real reason FA charged Paqueta and it’s not curtains yet
Responding to Hammers News, the FA was tight-lipped on that claim.
Now we know why as the end of the season came and sure enough, the FA have officially charged Paqueta.
There has been a presumption of guilt from some quarters as video of the bookings in question circulate online and social media.
The inference has been that the FA “must have” hard evidence against Paqueta to have charged him.
But the real reason the FA have charged Paqueta is so that they avoided the potential lawsuit being brought against them by Paqueta’s entourage and to now leave the matter in the hands of an independent panel.
By officially charging Paqueta over the allegations the case now goes to an independent three-person panel who will decide the Brazilian’s fate.
Of course that does not mean Paqueta will get off. But it also doesn’t make it inevitable he will be found guilty just because he has been charged – as many seem to be suggesting.
Three-person panel to decide fate
The panel will be completely independent and will have to make the decision based on the evidence before them.
Whether that goes beyond the video footage we must wait and see.
So while Paqueta and West Ham find themselves in a very serious situation, it’s not necessarily an open and shut case – and it’s not curtains yet.
West Ham have been involved with three-person panels in the past with mixed results.
A three-person arbitration panel fined the Hammers £5.5m, but crucially did not dock them points which would have relegated them as a result of the Carlos Tevez affair back in 2008.
Sheffield United had invoked an FA rule that allowed clubs with a legal dispute to go before an independent tribunal.