That was the betting hearing for West Ham midfielder Lucas Paqueta, whose case opened on Monday. Proceedings are expected to last three weeks. The Football Association, which regulates soccer in England, is working to expedite a Paqueta lifetime ban. He has been charged with spot-fixing in four separate Premier League games. We are taking a closer look at some of the most important matches. These matches are against Leicester last November, Aston Villa last March, Leeds May last year, and Bournemouth last August.
He has yet to have placed a single bet and he vehemently denies all the charges against him. Friends and family drove up 60 different bets in question. Importantly, most of these bets were for pretty small amounts. Paqueta has continued to assert his innocence despite these allegations.
"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."
The Football Association has brought separate charges against Paqueta for two FA Rule F3 violations. Each of these charges relates to his alleged failure to timely or properly provide the information and documents required by FA Rule F2. As a result of these charges, Paqueta decided to withdraw from Brazil’s national team during the international window. He still wanted to ensure that he could testify at the hearing.
Since arriving at West Ham, Paqueta has picked up 22 yellow cards. This would further solidify him as the player with the most bookings at the club. Important as this statistic may be, it has nothing to do with the allegations at issue here.
Paqueta said the seriousness of the allegations made her “shocked” and “sad.”
"I am extremely surprised and upset that the FA has decided to charge me."
We’ll see how the hearing develops in the next several weeks. The football community will definitely be watching every step of this process and waiting in anticipation for the final verdict. The up to lifetime ban also jeopardizes Paqueta’s future as a professional player. The result of this hearing will be key for his professional football career going forward.
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