Lucas Paqueta is reportedly being hit with two more charges by the FA in his betting case which could see him thrown out of the sport for life.
The West Ham star is accused of being deliberately booked in an attempt to influence betting markets and is expected to face a hearing next March.
The Football Association alleges that Paqueta was deliberately booked in 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. Paqueta has denied all the charges against him and has previously said that he ‘will fight with every breath to clear my name’.
Around 60 people in Brazil are said to have wagered bets between £7 and £400 on him being booked in relevant games, with total winnings of £100,000.
Now, according to The Sun, the FA are bringing two new charges against him due to carelessness with his old phone.
The FA are reportedly bringing two new charges against Lucas Paqueta in his spot-fixing case
The charges are for not being able to produce his old phone because he had chucked it away
The FA seized Paqueta’s phone for two months last year while investigators looked into his messages, calls, and banking history, during which time he bought a new mobile.
They eventually gave it back, but recalled it down the line as the investigators wanted to check extra details.
The only problem? Paqueta had thrown it away and could not find it.
As a result the FA are accusing him of obstructing the investigation with two aggravated breaches for non-cooperation, The Sun reports.
Mail Sport exclusively broke the story of Paqueta’s betting probe back in August 2023, which led to the collapse of his prospective £85million move to Premier League champions Manchester City.
Charges brought by the FA earlier this year coincided with the midfielder’s slump in form. The Hammers star endured a poor end to last campaign.
West Ham manager Julen Lopetegui has insisted that the player is handling his looming legal troubles well but revealed that he has not discussed the issue with him.
‘I’m happy with his behaviour and his commitment,’ Lopetegui said last month. ‘He’s working very hard, he’s trying to understand what we want. We’re trying to help him to be better and better. He’s an important player.’
Paqueta expressed his surprise at the charges and continues to deny any wrongdoing
Paqueta will reportedly face a hearing into alleged spot-fixing in March following his charge by the Football Association
The FA have investigated suspicious betting patterns surrounding four bookings Paqueta picked up in 2022 and 2023
West Ham boss Julen Lopetegui said Paqueta is handling the looming legal threat well but revealed he has not spoken to the Brazilian about the issue
He added: ‘We don’t talk about [the charges]. We talk about football, about the next match and about life. But not about this.’
Paqueta has played nine times this season, scoring two goals.