West Ham United midfielder Lucas Paquetá is facing a lifetime ban from soccer for allegedly engaging in match-fixing. The Brazilian is currently under investigation by the English Football Association (FA) for deliberately getting yellow cards in four Premier League games.
Suspicions began after Betway, the front-of-shirt sponsor for West Ham, noticed significant bets on Paquetá getting booked in certain games and reported it to the FA. SunSport reported Monday that the 26-year-old is now facing a lifetime ban if found guilty of the offenses.
60 people placed bets on the midfielder to get a yellow card in the four games
The media outlet revealed that 60 people placed bets on the midfielder to get a yellow card in the four games in question, with the stakes ranging between ￡7 ($9) and ￡400 ($511). Total winnings amounted to ￡100,000 ($127,843). Investigators traced the wagers to Paquetá Island, which is near to the player’s hometown of Rio de Janeiro.
While Paquetá had until Monday to respond to the allegations, his legal team requested an extension. The beginning of the FA investigation in August scuppered an ￡85m ($109m) move to Manchester City. Paquetá has consistently denied any wrongdoing in the case and a hearing is set to take place during the summer.
