Lucas Paqueta ‘asked NOT to play’ in West Ham’s draw with Bournemouth, when he received yellow card that led to FA spot-fixing charge
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West Ham star Lucas Paqueta is said to have asked manager David Moyes to leave him out of a match in which he was shown a controversial yellow card.
Paqueta has been accused by the FA of breaching gambling rules, with four specific yellow cards identified for suspicious betting patterns.
The 26-year-old denies the allegations and issues a statement saying he is surprised and appalled.
As reported by The sunasked Paqueta Moyes not to play in West Ham’s opening match of the Premier League season away to Bournemouth in August 2023, which ended in a 1-1 draw.
Paqueta was keen to avoid suffering an injury that could have prevented him from securing an £80m move to Manchester City.
Lucas Paqueta reportedly asked David Moyes not to play for West Ham against Bournemouth
Paqueta was shown a yellow card late on, prompting an FA investigation
The potential move did not take place after City became aware of the FA investigation.
Paqueta played against Bournemouth and was shown a yellow card for a handball in the third minute of stoppage time at the end of the second half. He was substituted in the closing stages of the match.
It was that yellow card that led to the FA investigation into Paqueta, who faces a 10-year ban if found guilty.
Paqueta’s yellow cards against Leicester, Aston Villa and Leeds during the 2022/2023 season are also under scrutiny.
Paqueta has until Monday to respond to allegations that he was deliberately given yellow cards to help his friends make money through betting.
Although Paqueta did not refuse to play against Bournemouth, he made it clear that he did not want to play.
The report indicates that Paqueta eventually agreed to play after senior figures at West Ham intervened.
Moyes had indicated he would like to replace Paqueta sooner to reduce the risk of injury, but he remained on the pitch for most of the match.
West Ham star Paqueta has been accused by the FA of breaching betting rules
Moyes started Paqueta v Bournemouth, with the Brazilian playing most of the match
From the 70th minute onwards you could see Paqueta regularly looking at the bench, suggesting that he wanted to be substituted.
Bets on Paqueta being shown yellow cards were placed from an island bearing his name, 9,000 kilometers away.
Paqueta will remain with the Brazil squad for their Copa America campaign despite being charged by the FA.