Under pressure and facing mounting scrutiny, West Ham captain Jarrod Bowen has remarkably stepped forward to take full responsibility for the incident involving Lucas Paqueta.
Lucas Paqueta has been making headlines again after his sending off in West Ham’s 2-0 defeat to Liverpool.
Referee Darren England had frustrated West Ham’s players and fans with the way he officiated the game against the defending Premier League champions.
But nothing excuses the brainless manner Paqueta pushed the ref to give him his marching orders in the final 10 minutes with West Ham still in the game at 1-0.
The Brazilian midfielder earned himself two needless bookings in quick succession for arguing with England – who was previously banned from refereeing Liverpool matches in the 2023/24 season.
Petulant Paqueta makes headlines for all the wrong reasons
Paqueta himself had only just returned to the West Ham side following a one-game ban for picking up five bookings.
When he refused to be pulled away by his Hammers team-mates – or even compatriot Alisson Becker and Curtis Jones of Liverpool – the writing was on the wall for a second booking.
West Ham’s £51m, £150k-per-week record signing continued to argue with the official and that second yellow ultimately arrived, all but ending Nuno Espirito Santo’s hopes that his side could continue their good form to get something out of the game.
Paqueta looks to be in trouble with Nuno after his icy response to the situation following the game.
Many Hammers fans are livid with the playmaker too, accusing him of being petulant, selfish and even looking for time off.
He is not the only senior West Ham player under pressure, though.
Jarrod Bowen has faced big question marks over his captaincy ever since he was handed the armband by Julen Lopetegui last season.
Despite being a certified Hammers legend, some supporters believe shy Bowen is not captain material.
Indeed axed West Ham boss Graham Potter also privately questioned Bowen’s Hammers captaincy.
The forward cherishes being Irons skipper.
So Bowen hit back at Potter with his celebration in Nuno’s first West Ham game after he scored the equaliser up at Everton.
Under fire Bowen takes blame for Paqueta incident
Now under fire West Ham captain Bowen takes blame for the Paqueta incident after a misunderstanding.
Many Hammers fans have spoken out on social media and fan forums after the Liverpool defeat to criticise Bowen’s failure to handle the situation.
Referee England had called Bowen over to try and calm Paqueta down.
But his soft shove on the Brazilian did not do the trick, leaving the side to finish the game with 10 men and West Ham without another key player for a tough trip to Man United.
Supporters believe, as captain, Bowen could and should have done more to prevent the situation from unfolding.
While debate will rage on that subject, Bowen has shown exactly what kind of selfless leader he is.
The Hammers star, who had one of his worst games in a West Ham shirt against Liverpool, has now moved to diffuse the situation by taking the fall for Paqueta.
Bowen is clearly hoping to ease tensions around the costly and damaging incident.
It’s a timely intervention from the skipper — and one that shows crucial leadership when West Ham need it most.
Bowen has conceded he could have done more to calm the situation down.
But he believes the whole affair was the result of a big misunderstanding between the ref and his teammate.
Bowen takes fall but says Paqueta made things hard
Bowen also explained that it was difficult for him to speak to the referee while Paqueta was in his ear too.
The Hammers’ skipper also defied anyone to talk Paqueta down from that level of emotion.
“I was trying to speak to Lucas on the pitch,” Bowen told West Ham’s website.
“I think what he was annoyed about was the first yellow card, and I think he thought that he was speaking to Mateus (Fernandes), and the referee gave him a yellow card.
“I was trying to speak to the referee and fight Lucas’ corner to say, ‘What’s the first yellow card for?’. He didn’t really understand it.
“Obviously, Lucas is passionate, and he was frustrated about it. I’m trying to talk to the referee, but I’ve got Lucas in my ear at the same time.
“Maybe I could have done more to help Lucas. But in that situation, I think Lucas was obviously really passionate about his feelings, and there’s probably no calming him down…
“But these things happen in football. Maybe I could have dealt with it a little bit better and helped Lucas, but I thought I was trying to speak to the referee to try and help Lucas find out why he got that first yellow card.”
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