Brazilian player Lucas Paquetá, from West Ham, is being investigated by the Football Association (English Football Federation), for his possible involvement in a betting scheme.
The athlete would have taken a yellow card in a game against Aston Villa, for the 27th round of the 2022-23 Premier League, on purpose.
Betway, sponsor of the team defended by Paquetá, found the movement strange and opened investigations.
Ivan Toney case
Brentford striker Ivan Toney, currently suspended for violating the federation’s betting rules, took the opportunity to speak about his case and shade the Brazilian athlete.
“There were people who said what I was doing was match-fixing, but none of that was match-fixing. I was just betting on myself to score the first goal of the match.”
“I was trying to do the right thing for my team. I wasn’t hitting an opponent just to get a yellow card and win a bet,” commented Toney.
According to the English media, the FA found more than 200 violations by Toney in sports betting. Including, the Bees striker would have bet 13 times against his own team, in matches he was not on the field.
The organization opened investigations and decided to remove the third highest scorer in the 2022-23 Premier League for eight months. With the punishment, the athlete will only return to work in February 2024.
“I am now like a child at Christmas, counting the days until I can go back to training and be close to my teammates, leaving this “football prison” behind”.
“I think we talk a lot about mental health and that sort of thing, but what does something like that do to someone who isn’t allowed in an environment?”
Leaving a person away from the training ground knowing football is their life and it’s all they’ve done since they were little, how is that going to help anyone?
“It’s not a pleasant feeling and the whole purpose of not being allowed on the training ground is baffling to me,” added Toney.
Paquetá’s testimony in the alleged betting scheme was postponed
The Brazilian had his testimony in the alleged betting scheme postponed for up to three weeks. This Monday (21), the British newspaper Daily Mail reported that the FA had complied with West Ham’s request.
According to the report, the request was made so that it was possible to understand the reasons that made the entity summon Paquetá to talk about the case. Despite this, he acted normally for the team and even scored in a game this Sunday, 20.
However, the player can be summoned to testify at the CPI of sports betting and was barred from calling up the Brazilian national team for the first two games of the World Cup Qualifiers.
“Paquetá was on the list. He’s a player I like a lot. It’s a question of preservation, letting him resolve these issues, which go beyond the game. Leaving him more comfortable to resolve was the most appropriate thing to do”, he said. the coach of the national team, Fernando Diniz.
