The Football Association have confirmed West Ham United midfielder Lucas Paqueta has been charged with breaking betting rules which could see an end to his career – a leading sports lawyer has told HITC.
The FA revealed the charges on Thursday and confirmed they were in relation to four Premier League games, in which Paqueta was booked on each occasion.
In their statement the FA stated: “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.”
For his part Paqueta continues to deny the allegations against him.
“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,” he said in a statement released via his social media.
What punishment could Lucas Paqueta face?
There have been some recent high-profile bans in regards to betting in the last 12-months in the Premier League. England and Brentford’s Ivan Toney was banned in 2023 for eight months after he admitted 232 charges, for gambling on numerous games – but never on himself to lose whilst playing.
Newcastle’s Sandro Tonali missed almost all of this season when Italian authorities placed a suspension on him last year, and the FA also handed him a suspended sentence in relation to betting activity in England.
But now Paqueta’s situation appears is somewhat more serious than those before, and we spoke exclusively to leading sports lawyer and partner at Leathes Prior, Dan Chapman to get his analysis of the situation.
He explained to us: “If Paqueta were found guilty of these offences, which we must note he strongly denies, it is likely that we would be looking at a sanction of an entirely different magnitude to those imposed to players such as Ivan Toney or Sandro Tonali – who were found guilty of betting on the outcome of matches (and often matches they were not involved in).
“Paqueta’s alleged spot-fixing would be considered as a far more serious type of offending, given it strikes at the integrity of the game and is an overt attempt by one individual to manipulate the sporting outcomes on the pitch for his own financial benefit, or the benefits of others associated to him. It is noteworthy that in addition to the main spot-fixing charge, under FA Rule E5.1, he has also been charged under FA Rule F2, which is essentially a failure to co-operate with the investigation charge.
FA guidelines point to lifetime ban
“Whilst we have seen quite a few spot-fixing sanctions in other sports (principally cricket) there are not too many high-profile precedents in UK football. However, the FA’s position in their sentencing guidelines is that the starting point for a breach of FA Rule E5.1 is a lifetime ban, and that only in exceptional circumstances should a ban be anything else.
“Much will be made of the 10-year ban given in 2022 to Kynan Isaac, a non-league player who was found guilty of intentionally seeking a yellow card so for betting purposes. Having read the decision of the independent regulatory commission in that case, it is noteworthy that Isaac was found guilty of seeking a yellow card in one fixture only but that he was heavily criticised for his conduct and lack of co-operation with the regulatory process – we can assume Paqueta will co-operate and will be aided by legal representation of the highest standard.
“It is also worth noting that Bradley Wood was banned for 5 years in 2018 for deliberately seeking a yellow card on two occasions whilst playing for Lincoln City, and the FA appealed that decision (unsuccessfully) as being unduly lenient.
“What is clear is that, if found guilty, it is hard to imagine Paqueta would not be facing an extremely substantial ban, and that the FA will be bound to seek a lengthy ban, and one that in reality would likely be all but career-ending.”
The post Exclusive: Lucas Paqueta's career could be over according to leading sports lawyer appeared first on HITC.