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Lucas Paqueta, a West Ham midfielder, claims that his “ridiculous behavior” that caused Liverpool to send him a 2-0 defeat was “a reflection of everything I’ve had to endure.”

The Brazil midfielder was the subject of a nearly two-year investigation by the Football Association when an independent regulatory commission found him innocent of spot-fixing allegations in July.

Referee Darren England sent Paqueta two yellow cards in a row for dissent on Sunday after they had an argument over whether to call a foul on his team with six minutes to go.

Following the game, Paqueta responded to a postquoting former Hammers goalkeeper Rob Green’s commentary on X, which called the red card “ridiculous behavior.”

Paqueta apologized to his team-mates and the club’s supporters, saying, “It’s ridiculous to have your life and career affected for two years without any psychological support from the federation.”

“Perhaps this ridiculous behavior is just a reflection of everything I’ve had to endure, and it seems that will continue to do so!”

I’m sorry if I’m imperfect.

After missing the 2-2 draw against Bournemouth last weekend, the 28-year-old was only returning from a one-game suspension on Sunday after accumulating five yellow cards in the league.

It’s difficult to live with everything that was done to me and my psyche, he wrote in Portuguese. “I understand that now I have to come across as the villain.

I’ll keep attempting to prevent them from having an even greater impact on me. I apologize to the fans and my teammates because this doesn’t support my expulsion.

The 27-year-old was charged in May of last year for allegedly getting booked “consensually” for the improper purpose of affecting the betting market, despite the FA’s investigation having begun in August 2023.

If found guilty, Paqueta could receive a lifetime ban.

Following a hearing, the regulatory commission found that Paqueta’s four charges were “not proven,” but he was reprimanded and warned about his future conduct for failing to follow the allegations’ investigation.

Nuno Espirito Santo, West Ham manager, said, “I’m not going to comment too much after the game.”

“First of all, I’m going to try to understand Lucas’ frustrations and behavior,” I said.

In his first season with the Hammers, Paqueta helped the team claim the Europa Conference League title from Lyon when he left in August 2022.

When Dundee visit Celtic on Wednesday, Martin O’Neill now considers there to be a “strong possibility” that he will still be in charge.

Hearts, the Scottish Premiership’s frenzied competition, will face them on Sunday. Then, the Europa League champions Roma. Both places are in Glasgow’s east end. In two weeks, the League Cup final against St Mirren will follow.

Could Celtic be better-served to leave the 73-year-old Northern Irishman in charge for a little while longer as the drawn-out process of making Wilfried Nancy the full-time replacement for Brendan Rodgers drags on?

O’Neill now has six victories in his seven games following Sunday’s victory over Hibernian. The Celtic players appear to have revived. His name is being chanted by the fans.

He is undoubtedly looking forward to joining it, but he thinks there will be one more “final” game before returning to his retirement.

The figures are impressive. Seven games and six victories. Conceived six and scored 18.

Only two of those games were played at home, with a previously incompetent and misfiring team scoring eight goals ahead of Falkirk and Kilmarnock.

At Hampden, Rangers faced off in the League Cup semi-final. And two difficult European away matches, one of which gave Feyenoord a landmark victory.

plus two challenging trips to St. Mirren and Hibs, both of which produced priceless away victories.

In his five games as interim manager, O’Neill has a perfect domestic record, and he’ll be hoping to score six when struggling Dundee calls in the middle of the week.

After beating Celtic in Rodgers’ final game in charge, Hearts was eight points clear when he took over.

Under Rodgers, things had come to a standstill. In contrast to their 3-1 defeat at Tynecastle, Celtic were awful in a 2-0 loss at Dens Park.

Dermot Desmond, the board’s largest shareholder, hit the breaking point, according to the board.

O’Neill hasn’t looked back in the club since his previous appearance, which was between 2000 and 2005, has been praised there.

Under the former Republic of Ireland manager, Celtic have fought for goals and creativity in the later stages of Rodgers’ reign.

A chance was given to players who didn’t previously have much of a look-in, like Johnny Kenny, Callum Osmand, and Auston Trusty. Reo Hatate and Daizen Maeda, who were once considered shadows of their former selves at the beginning of the season, suddenly appear reborn.

This now resembles the Celtic of a year ago, when Rodgers led the team to its height, putting domestic rivals aside, and presenting itself as a respectable Champions League outfit.

Hearts, the league leader, has admitted that they have lost their “swagger” in recent weeks, but Celtic have since found it.

After the win over Hibs, O’Neill told Sky Sports, “There has been a response.” Some players are “absolutely, really good at playing this game.” They simply lost some self-assurance.

“Half the team couldn’t have known who I was,” said the coach. They assume that this man has quite old hair and gray hair. He is who? Has Father Christmas arrived early? Being around young people has given me new life.

O’Neill effectively confirmed on Sunday that Nancy is Celtic’s agent but that “paperwork” is preventing the transaction.

For the first time, the Frenchman requires a work permit. As do his employees in the backroom. And nothing else can be resolved until their employment terms are confirmed.

O’Neill will continue to lead the team until the final details of all the various contracts are finalized and signed. The earliest time Nancy has been seen would be when Hearts visits next Sunday, as it is currently known.

At Easter Road, O’Neill stated, “I genuinely believed this would be the last game.” Then I receive a call yesterday letting me know there is still a little more paperwork to be completed. There must be some paperwork involved…

“It appears to me that I’ll be able to make it through Wednesday night.”

Former Scotland international James McFadden is content that Celtic are in good hands with O’Neill, despite the surfaced criticism.

McFadden said on Sky Sports, “He’s come in and probably exceeded expectations.” His goal was to stabilize the club and make them better, which is exactly what he did.

He has won numerous games and given outstanding performances. A team can be seen fighting and working together.

long-term? No. That ship has departed.

Short-term ? O’Neill joked later that he had “hid the paperwork” that would allow him to keep playing until the League Cup final, and that it would be lovely to keep it that way.

Numerous Celtic fans who have spoken with BBC Sport Scotland would be willing to stick with O’Neill for at least the next few weeks, according to what Celtic fans have to say.

As one commentator said, would it be better to allow Nancy to take over a team that just won a trophy rather than risk losing a final so soon in his place?

Another option might be for the Frenchman to continue playing on advisory duties given his lack of coaching experience outside of North America.

When asked, he said he wouldn’t be against doing that if the new manager found it unlikely and that he would only do it if it appealed to him.

He told BBC Sport Scotland, “I don’t believe that’s going to happen.”

The new manager needs to “get himself together, stamp his own personality on the team, and get ready for January” to try to improve the squad.

O’Neill will bid Celtic adieu and his reputation as a club legend will be strengthened if he is forced to step back into the football punditocracy. Not that he seems concerned about that…

He said, “Honestly, I’ve never worried about a legacy.” My concern was failing. And that is undoubtedly not what we have done.

Alan: Celtic are facing a full head in the face for the solution to their current issues. Whether or not he scores 73, O’Neill has a lot to offer the team and the club. I believe he should remain in charge until at least the end of the season.

Better O’Neill, Francis, stays until the season’s end. Someone who has never played in the SPFL before needs some time to adjust to what is essentially an amateur league. Time won’t be given by so-called supporters, as we all know.