LUCAS PAQUETA has been charged by The FA for breaches of their betting rules and accused of deliberately getting booked.
And he now faces a massive ban with a minimum of six-month suspension if found guilty.
Paqueta has been under investigation since last year after suspicious betting patterns were raised around his bookings – scuppering a move to Manchester City.
The Brazil international has now been charged by four breaches around bookings and two charges of failing to properly comply.
Paqueta, 26, strongly denies the claims.
The FA said: “West Ham United’s Lucas Paqueta has been charged with misconduct in relation to alleged breaches of FA Rules E5 and F3.
“The player has been charged with four breaches of FA Rule E5.1 in relation to his conduct in the club’s Premier League fixtures against Leicester City on 12 November 2022; Aston Villa on 12 March 2023; Leeds United on 21 May 2023; and AFC Bournemouth on 12 August 2023.
“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.
“Lucas Paqueta has also been charged with two breaches of FA Rule F3 in respect of alleged failures to comply pursuant to FA Rule F2.
“The player has until 03 June 2024 to provide a response to these charges subject to any request for an extension to this deadline.
What games has Paqueta been charged for?
Lucas Paqueta’s four charges relate to the following games:
- West Ham vs Leicester – November 12 2022
- West Ham vs Aston Villa – March 12 2023
- West Ham vs Leeds May 21 2023
- West Ham vs Bournemouth August – 12 2023
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“The FA will be making no further comment until the conclusion of this case.”
West Ham 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.”
Responding to the allegation on social media, Paqueta said: “I am extremely surprised that The FA has decided to charge me.
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“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 any further comment.”
Paqueta has until June 3 to respond to the charges.
The charges against him come after Newcastle midfielder Sandro Tonali was banned for 10 months after being found guilty of illegal betting.
In March The FA charged Tonali for breaking betting rules 50 times AFTER moving to Tyneside – including Newcastle games.
The latter set of breaches saw him handed a suspended two-month ban, leaving him set to return to football in August.
Ivan Toney was earlier hit with an eight-month FA ban which expired in January after being charged with 232 breaches of FA regulations.