Lucas Paqueta faces risk of “multi-year ban” or even jail if found guilty of allegations say Fifpro guidelines but West Ham star denies wrongdoing.
West Ham – and Manchester City – were rocked yesterday when it emerged Lucas Paqueta is being investigated by the FA and FIFA over potential betting breaches.
Man CIty have been pursuing West Ham’s star man over the last week and were said to be closing in on a deal worth around £80m.
But the potential move from West Ham to Man City suddenly hit a brick wall yesterday, as reported on Hammers News.
Lucas Paqueta faces risk of “multi-year ban” or even jail if found guilty of allegations say Fifpro guidelines but West Ham star denies wrongdoing
In the reports claiming Paqueta’s move to champions Manchester City was off – for now at least – it was cited that the reasons were ‘confidential’ and being kept a ‘secret’.
But those reasons soon became clear yesterday evening when the Paqueta allegations came to light.
The investigation is said to centre around alleged bets placed in Brazil, traced back to Paqueta’s native Paqueta island, on yellow cards he would receive in games.
At the moment they are just allegations and the Hammers star denies any wrongdoing.
But The Daily Mail claims West Ham are ‘nervously waiting’ as star Paqueta is called before the FA on Monday.
And it’s easy to see why.
Because Paqueta faces risk of “multi-year ban” or even jail if found guilty of allegations say Fifpro guidelines but the West Ham star denies wrongdoing.
The key words there being “if found guilty”.
Fifpro guidance issued to all professionals makes things very clear
Many West Ham fans have been under the impression that any potential punishment for Paqueta would be less severe than the eight-month ban handed to Ivan Toney.
But the allegations facing Paqueta could actually be more serious because they would fall under the category of match-fixing according to Fifpro.
Fifpro is the only worldwide representative organisation for professional footballers. It is a trade union for professional footballers acting in the interests of its 64,000 plus members.
And Fifpro issues clear guidance to all players – which would include West Ham’s Paqueta – over what comes under the match-fixing umbrella and the consequences.
Fifpro’s guidance on the matter states:
“What is match-fixing? Match-fixing is the illegal manipulation of the result of a sports match, or elements of a match, such as a specific throw-in, penalty-kick, corner or yellow card.
“What happens if I help fix a match? You will at least risk a multi-year ban from football. In various countries match-fixing is considered a criminal offence, meaning that players who are found guilty of being involved with match-fixing risk a jail sentence.”
West Ham, FA and FIFA yet to comment as Paqueta denies any wrongdoing ahead of Monday hearing
This is obviously a worst case scenario applicable only if there has been an offence and Paqueta is found guilty. And any investigation would likely drag on for many months. But it doesn’t get much clearer than that.
West Ham are yet to release any statement on the matter and Paqueta is expected to play against Chelsea at the London Stadium on Sunday.
According to Sky Sports, Paqueta says he has not placed any bets himself and is said to be shocked by reports.
The FA and FIFA have – at the time of writing – declined to comment.
Paqueta had been named in the latest Brazil squad but has been removed by the interim manager along with Villarreal star Luiz Henrique, who is also the subject of an investigation.
West Ham and the club’s fans will be dearly hoping the player can prove his innocence.