Lucas Paqueta’s family have been brought under investigation by the Football Association after their alleged involvement in a spot-fixing scandal involving the West Ham United midfielder and Botafogo winger Luiz Henrique.
Lucas Paqueta : What happened again ?
The entourage of Lucas Paqueta allegedly paid a sum of £5,000 into the account of former Real Betis striker Luiz Henrique shortly after the player received two controversial yellow cards – which led La Liga and the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) to open an investigation.
In his defence, Paqueta’s uncle Bruno Tolentino, who paid the money into Henrique’s account explained:
“It was money that I owed him and I paid it. It was an agreement between us. It was money that I owed him and he had lent it to me. We agreed to pay it back and we did. When I had the money to pay it back, I paid it. I can play, I’m not prohibited. I just can’t have privileged information. From Luiz Henrique, it was pure luck, man. It’s one in a million.”
The betting irregularities surrounding Henrique’s yellow cards during his time at Real Betis have been closely tied to the FA’s investigation into Paqueta’s involvement in similar spot-fixing activities.
The FA is also convinced that Paqueta deliberately received bookings in matches against Leicester City, Aston Villa, Leeds United and Bournemouth during the 2022-23 season so that either he and/or his friends could profit from bets placed on him being carded.
The charges against Lucas Paqueta reportedly include four counts of spot-fixing, a serious offence that could result in severe consequences for the Brazilian midfielder.
Henrique has returned to Brazil in the last winter transfer window while Paqueta remains at West Ham, while the FA continues their investigation.