West Ham’s Brazilian star Lucas Paqueta is two weeks into the three-week trial which will make or break his career.
If Lucas Paqueta is found guilty of spot-fixing at the culmination of his trial, the West Ham man will face a possible lifetime ban from football.
In one corner is the English Football Association, who are bringing the case.
And The FA are pushing for Paqueta’s career to be ended.
West Ham have been perturbed by the FA’s ‘savage’ stance.
Bombshell from Paqueta’s lawyer ‘The Godfather’
Especially having had the best part of 19 months to review evidence between when the investigation first started in August 2023 and now.
In the other corner stands West Ham’s Brazil international midfielder Paqueta and his renowned defence, barrister Nick De Marco KC.
De Marco may not be a household name for most football fans. But there is every chance, you will be well aware of some of the cases he has fought.
The FA will certainly know all about De Marco’s reputation as one of the most important and prominent figures in the current legal soap opera that is the Premier League and English football.
He is dubbed ‘The Godfather’ of sports law and his successes include representing former Manchester City defender Benjamin Mendy in his £11m claim for unpaid wages from Manchester City.
It was De Marco who led Leicester’s defence when they were charged by the Premier League over PSR breaches.
West Ham will have taken not of that case and great heart from it too. Because much to the league’s disappointment and the surprise of most in the game, an independent panel decided it had no jurisdiction to hold the case, sparing the Foxes a potential points deduction.
It showed just how shrewd and savvy De Marco is – and why West Ham’s £51m record signing brought him in.
De Marco, a QPR fan, also represented Ivan Toney in his own, less serious, betting case.
De Marco tells West Ham verdict he expects
The man who will now fight to clear Paqueta’s name estimates he has worked for more than half of the Premier League’s clubs in various forms.
Some of those cases never reach the public domain like this high-profile Paqueta trial.
A big part of Paqueta’s defence up to now has involved getting David Moyes to verify that he didn’t want to play in a game in which he received one of four yellow cards he’s alleged to have deliberately sought to influence betting markets.
West Ham also insist bookings are a result of Paqueta’s style.
Now there’s been a bombshell as Paqueta’s lawyer ‘The Godfather’ tells West Ham the verdict he expects.
A confidant of Hammers majority owner David Sullivan has delivered a major update on the Paqueta trial.
Sean Whetstone says club sources have told him the trial is now expected to run over the three-weeks set aside for it to be heard.
That three weeks is already a record timeframe for an FA hearing.
But it will go on even longer according to sources speaking to Whetstone.
West Ham sources have also said there is uncertainty over when any verdict and punishment will be handed down with the possibility of appeals potentially pushing it to the end of the season.
But there will be no punishment to hand down according to De Marco and his team.
West Ham source says lawyer thinks Paqueta will be absolved
De Marco is also a talented artist in his spare time, judging by his social media posts.
He hasn’t had much of that lately due to his work commitments, the latest being in defence of Paqueta.
Paqueta on his day can be a true artist on the pitch.
Some might say seeing the West Ham man absolved after such a long drawn-out and stressful process will be a work of art.
And that’s exactly what ‘The Godfather’ thinks will happen.
Whetstone states that Paqueta’s legal team, which includes barrister De Marco, believe the West Ham player will be acquitted of the spot-fixing charges due to lack of direct evidence implicating their client.
This is great news for West Ham as much as it is Paqueta.
PSR is biting the club hard this summer.
If absolved it means Paqueta can be sold to help raise funds for Graham Potter’s rebuild.
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