West Ham midfielder Lucas Paqueta has been charged by the Football Association with allegations of deliberate bookings with the “improper intention of influencing the betting market”.
The costs relate to the Premier League match in opposition to Leicester City on 12 November 2022, and the 2023 fixtures in opposition to Aston Villa on 12 March, Leeds United on 21 May and Bournemouth on 12 August.
This 26-year-old participant is from Brazil was being investigated since final summer season over suspicious betting patterns.
An FA assertion stated: “It is suspected that he [Paqueta] immediately seeks to affect the progress, conduct, or every other facet, or prevalence of those video games by intentionally searching for to obtain a card from the referee with the improper function of influencing the betting market in order that a number of folks profit from betting. .”
Paqueta, who joined West Ham from Lyon for an preliminary £36.5m in August 2022, he stated he was “shocked and really upset” by the costs.
“For 9 months I’ve cooperated with all of the steps of their investigation and I’m giving all the knowledge I can get. I deny all the costs and I’ll combat with all my soul to clear my identify,” he added.
A West Ham assertion stated: “The membership will proceed to symbolize the participant and help the participant throughout this course of.”
He has till June 3 to “present a response to those costs topic to any request for an extension of this deadline”.