West Ham United’s Lucas Paqueta is set to appear before a Brazilian inquiry investigating sports betting and results manipulation, according to the Daily Mail.
The newspaper reported in their print edition (25 August, back page) that the Brazilian Parliamentary Committee of Inquiry, since being established in March, has charged seven professional footballers in Brazil’s top two divisions for match-fixing and illegal betting, with Paqueta the latest to be questioned.
The West Ham man could be compelled to be questioned in Brazil but could appear before the committee virtually amid the FA’s own investigation into bookings he received while playing for the Hammers.
While Paqueta has denied any wrongdoing in regards to suspicious betting behaviour or results manipulation, he is not out of the woods just yet.
Per Sky Sports (23 August), West Ham and Manchester City had agreed an £80million deal for the Brazilian to move to the Etihad, but following the FA’s investigation into Paqueta, the move was cancelled.
While Hammers fans would be happy not to lose one of their star midfielders, they may be fearful of the potential consequences if the worst turns out to be true.
However, in the meantime, if Paqueta does have to travel back to his native Brazil to be questioned, he could be forced to miss out on some game time.
West Ham’s season has got off to a decent start, especially following their 3-1 victory over Chelsea, but they will depend on the 25-year-old throughout the season and any time he is away from playing will hurt the Hammers.
Paqueta meanwhile must try his best to make sure the extra attention he’s receiving does not impact his performances on the pitch, but naturally considering the nature of the allegations this could be tough.
After the FA’s investigation became public, as reported originally by the Daily Mail (18 August), Paqueta received a yellow card against Chelsea to much jeering and ironic calls from fans across social media.
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