West Ham’s Brazil international Lucas Paqueta has been charged by the English Football Association with alleged breaches of its betting rules.

Paqueta, who came close to joining champions Manchester City for £85million (now $108m) last summer, is accused of deliberately getting himself booked in four Premier League matches.

The Brazil international, named in his country’s preliminary squad for the Copa America in the United States in June, had been under investigation since last summer over suspicious betting patterns, which have been traced to Paqueta Island, off the coast of Rio de Janiero, where he grew up.

He faces a long ban if he is found guilty.

Paqueta, 26, said he was “extremely surprised and upset” by the charges and vowed to “fight with every breath to clear my name”.

So what has he allegedly done wrong, how have we got to this point and what are the rules around football and betting?

Who is Paqueta?

Paqueta started his career at Brazilian side Flamengo, before spells at AC Milan, Lyon and West Ham.

The midfielder finished his first season in England with five goals and seven assists in all competitions, and made it eight and seven respectively in 2023-24.

Fine performances for Brazil at the 2021 Copa America, as well as his time in the Premier League, have convinced Manchester City he has what it takes to play at the very top level.

He grew up on Paqueta Island in Guanabara Bay, opposite Rio de Janeiro. He lived on the island with his mother Cristiane, cousins, his brother Matheus, and grandfather Mirao until he was 12.

Paqueta has a tattoo on his forearm of a star and the letter “M” in recognition of his now-deceased grandpa’s contribution to making him the player and person he is today.

One of Paqueta’s football idols is the Flamengo and Brazil legend Zico, who is widely considered one of the country’s greatest players. When he was younger, Paqueta would watch videos of Zico and try to copy some of his moves. Paqueta made his debut for the national team in 2018 and has earned 44 caps.

He has two sons, Benicio and Filippo, with partner Duda.

What has Paqueta been charged with?

Paqueta has been charged by the English Football Association with deliberately getting himself booked in four separate Premier League matches so he and/or his friends could benefit by betting on that happening. He denies any wrong-doing.

The charges relate to a yellow card Paqueta picked up against Leicester City on November 12, 2022, as well as matches in 2023 against Aston Villa on March 12, Leeds United on May 21 and Bournemouth on the opening day of this season.

An FA statement said: “It’s alleged that he (Paqueta) 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.”

Paqueta has also been charged with two breaches of FA Rule F3 in respect of alleged failures to comply pursuant to FA Rule F2, which relates to providing information and documents.

FA Rule F2 allows the FA to require any participant to attend and answer questions, provide documents, information, or other materials upon reasonable notice. If a participant does not comply with these requests, it can be considered a breach of FA Rule F3, which constitutes misconduct.

He faces a lengthy ban if found guilty.

Paqueta has until June 3 to respond to the charges.

The player released a statement on Instagram saying: “I am extremely surprised and upset that the FA has decided to charge me. For nine months, I have cooperated with every step of their investigation and provided all the information I can.

“I deny the charges in their entirety and will fight with every breath to clear my name. Due to the ongoing process, I will not be providing further comment.”

West Ham have pledged to stand by their player.

A West Ham spokesperson said: “The club acknowledges receipt of the FA charge received by Lucas Paqueta for alleged breaches of their rules. Lucas categorically denies the breach and will continue to robustly defend his position.

“The club will continue to stand by and support the player throughout the process and will make no further comment until the matter is concluded.”

What has he allegedly done wrong?

It first emerged Paqueta was being investigated for possible betting breaches in August last year following suspicious betting patterns surrounding a yellow card he received in the 93rd minute of West Ham United’s opening game of this season against Bournemouth when he was booked for an aerial challenge Illia Zabarnyi and then showing dissent towards referee Peter Bankes.

He was interviewed by the FA last September and provided them with access to his phone the following month.

The three other incidents relate to the 2022-23 season.

First, a yellow card he got against Leicester City for a late challenge on Boubakary Soumare…

Paqueta collecting his yellow card against Leicester (Sky Sports)

A foul from behind on John McGinn against Aston Villa…

…and a rash tackle on Cryscencio Summerville against Leeds United.

Paqueta’s booking against Leeds (Sky Sports)

The bets were placed from accounts registered in Paqueta but the bets were not placed by the player.

The suspicious bets were flagged to the International Betting Integrity Association who notified world football’s governing body FIFA and the FA.

Are footballers allowed to place bets?

No, footballers are not permitted to bet on the sport.

If they open a betting account, the system should identify them and intervene.

FA rule E8 states: “Where a Participant provides to any other person any information relating to football which the Participant has obtained by virtue of his or her position within the game and which is not publicly available at that time, the Participant shall be in breach of this Rule where any of that information is used by that other person for, or in relation to, betting.”

What is ‘spot fixing’?

In football, it is possible to bet on an individual player to get a red or a yellow card, the number of cards brandished in a match and the number of cards each team will receive in a game. This is known as “spot betting”.

“Spot fixing”, however, is where a player agrees to influence a certain part of a match — for example by receiving a yellow card — rather than trying to “fix” the final score.

In his autobiography Taking Le Tiss, Matt Le Tissier revealed he had once tried to kick the ball out of play at the start of a Southampton match against Wimbledon in 1995 so a “few people could make a few quid on the time of the first throw.”

As it happened, he under hit his pass so it didn’t go out of play. The ball eventually went out of play 70 seconds into the match, meaning Le Tissier neither won or lost the money.

Have there been any significant betting cases in football recently?

Yes, there have been two high-profile cases recently: first involving Brentford’s Ivan Toney and then Sandro Tonali of Newcastle United, both for betting on football.

Toney, who was this week called up to the England Euro 2024 training camp, was banned from football for eight months in May last year for 232 breaches of betting rules. He was allowed to return to training with Brentford in September but the ban stopped him from playing until January 17.

Toney is back playing for Brentford (Eddie Keogh/Getty Images)

Then, at the start of this season, Newcastle midfielder Tonali was handed a 10-month ban for offences relating to his time playing in Italy.

Tonali, who joined Newcastle from AC Milan in July last year for £55million, was then issued with a separate suspended two-month ban for 40 to 50 breaches of the FA’s betting rules. This included “up to four” bets on Newcastle, all of which were on them to win.

Tonali has been allowed to train with Newcastle throughout the suspension. In October, his agent Beppe Riso said the midfielder had been suffering from a “gambling illness”.

Dating further back, Kieran Trippier and Daniel Sturridge both received bans for passing on information about their upcoming transfers to friends or family. In 2017, Joey Barton was banned for 18 months for placing 1,260 bets on matches between 2006 and 2016, which included at least five matches in which he was a player.

Further down the pyramid, Kynan Isaac, a Stratford Town player, was banned for 12 years after he was found guilty of spot fixing and placing illegal bets on an FA Cup match. He was handed a 10-year ban for deliberately earning a booking in a betting scheme with friends, with a further 18-month suspension for breaching FA rules for betting on matches and an extra year for failing to cooperate with the investigation.

And Lincoln City’s Bradley Wood was banned for six years in 2018 after he deliberately got booked in two matches, with two close friends betting on that happening.

However a former Arsenal midfielder, whom we cannot name for legal reasons, was cleared of any involvement in a possible betting scam following a yellow card he received in December 2021 following a 16-month wait.

What does this mean for West Ham?

Paqueta is widely regarded as West Ham’s most talented player, even if his form tailed off towards the end of the season when speculation surrounding interest from Manchester City heightened. He struggled with consistency but still managed to end the campaign with eight goals and seven assists across 43 appearances.

City’s interest follows on from the Premier League champions taking a look at him last summer, a potential move that was scuppered at the time by the emergence of the investigation that has now led to betting charge.

Paqueta with Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola (Ben Stansall/AFP via Getty Images)

West Ham were never likely to hold onto Paqueta this summer, but losing him and not being able to replace him would be a double blow. Paqueta’s £85million release clause becomes active in June and his deal expires in 2027, with the option of a further year.

Selling Paqueta would allow the club to reinvest in the squad, similar to Declan Rice’s £105million departure to Arsenal last summer. Forwards Youssef En-Nesyri, of Sevilla, and Wesley Gassova, of Brazilian side Corinthians, were two of the summer targets identified by technical director and new head coach Julen Lopetegui.

Earlier this season, the Brazil international was asked about his future and said: “I have grown this year and have got better and better. My evolution was important from last season to this one. I have to do my work here at West Ham. I have an enormous respect for the club. I’m very happy here and if I don’t say that, I’d be lying.

“What has been said about Man City is all stuff from the previous transfer window. Now it’s about finishing the season and to wait and see what will happen.”

Will this impact Paqueta’s involvement for Brazil at the Copa America?

Paqueta plays international football for Brazil, who will compete at the Copa America in the United States between June 20 and July 14 — after Paqueta has to respond to the charges from the FA.

How to follow the Copa America on The Athletic…

The forward has rejoined the set-up under Dorival Junior, having been left out under Fernando Diniz, the previous head coach, because of the possibility of the charges.

Paqueta is a very important player for Brazil — and comfortably the main creative force with Neymar absent with injury. Brazil really missed him when he was left out of their recent squads and he impressed against England in March when they won 1-0 at Wembley.

It is unclear whether he will make the squad for the competition. The Brazil FA has been contacted for comment.

Additional contributor: Jack Lang

(Top photo: Ina Fassbender/AFP via Getty Images)