West Ham’s Paqueta warned over FA rule breaches

Lucas Paqueta, a midfielder for West Ham United, has received reprimands and warnings about his future conduct, but he has not received any fines as a result of his inaction.

The Brazil playmaker was charged with four counts of deliberately booking him in four different matches in 2022 and 2023 “for the improper purpose of affecting the betting market,” according to an independent regulatory commission in July.

However, the 28-year-old was found guilty of two violations of FA Rule F3 by breaking the FA’s request to answer questions and provide information during the FA’s investigation into rules violations.

The “starting point for sanction was a financial penalty,” according to the statement, led to the decision to not impose a fine due to several mitigating factors.

Paqueta’s “limited knowledge of English” and “fantastic” expectation that the player, who had no legal training, would follow the counsel’s recommendations, as well as his “limited knowledge of English,” were two examples.

The FA, according to the commission, “appeared to be not interested in what the player had to say when he offered to respond to questions about the disclosure that had taken place after the first interview.”

The player provided answers to the FA’s questions in any case by providing a witness statement on December 15, 2023, thus in effect complying with the request for information. He had previously offered to make his mobile devices available for interrogation.

Significantly, this was done before charges were brought against the investigation in the end. The FA has not provided any proof of prejudice.

The player’s “mental stress” was also taken into account because of the “extremely serious” nature of the allegations against him, as well as the “hefty” legal fees Paqueta had to pay in the case and the “heavily” serious” nature of the allegations against him.