West Ham are shocked by the decision by the Football Association to formally charge Lucas Paqueta in relation to  betting allegations against the player.

The Brazilian international has been the subject of an enquiry by footballs governing body for over 9 months, after the allegations were raised after it was reported by Betway of suspicious bets being placed on the player to receive yellow cards in certain matches.

Despite the severity of the allegations, due to the timescale of events and a feeling there was a lack of any substantial evidence, the club and player are now shocked to receive the verdict that Paqueta will in fact be charged, and now has to work to defend his innocence.

The charge will be contested and so therefore any sanction will take further weeks to take place. This could mean that the player remains at West Ham, as the clubs thought to be weighing up summer moves are unlikely to, until this is concluded.

The statement from the FA read:

West Ham United’s Lucas Paqueta has been charged with misconduct in relation to alleged breaches of FA Rules E5 and F3.

The player has been charged with four breaches of FA Rule E5.1 in relation to his conduct in the club’s Premier League fixtures against Leicester City on 12 November 2022; Aston Villa on 12 March 2023; Leeds United on 21 May 2023; and AFC Bournemouth on 12 August 2023.

It’s alleged that he directly sought to influence the progress, conduct, or any other aspect of, or occurrence in these matches by intentionally seeking to receive a card from the referee for the improper purpose of affecting the betting market in order for one or more persons to profit from betting.

Lucas Paqueta has also been charged with two breaches of FA Rule F3 in respect of alleged failures to comply pursuant to FA Rule F2.

The player has until 03 June 2024 to provide a response to these charges subject to any request for an extension to this deadline.

The FA will be making no further comment until the conclusion of this case.

Paqueta himself took to social media to publish his response to the charge, which read:

I am extremely surprised and upset that the FA has decided to charge me. For nine months, I have cooperated with every step of their investigation and provided all the information I can. I deny the charges in their entirety and will fight with every breath to clear my name.