FA will not challenge ruling clearing Paqueta of spot-fixing charges

The Football Association has confirmed it will not appeal against the independent commission’s decision to clear West Ham midfielder Lucas Paqueta of four spot-fixing allegations, Sport360NG reports.

After a lengthy investigation, the commission ruled that the charges were “not proven,” though Paqueta was found guilty of separate breaches for failing to cooperate fully with the inquiry. Sanctions for those offences will be announced in due course.

The Brazilian international had been accused of deliberately picking up yellow cards in four Premier League fixtures between November 2022 and August 2023 in order to influence betting markets. However, the commission determined the evidence against him relied too heavily on circumstantial claims and lacked independent expert analysis of betting data.

The FA’s case included details of 542 bets placed by 253 people, with alleged links between 27 of the bettors and Paqueta. Yet the player denied any meaningful connection, saying he only knew five of those individuals and rarely discussed football with them.

A 314-page judgment from Sports Resolutions, the body overseeing the hearing, criticised the FA for presenting its betting analysis through one of its own investigators rather than an independent specialist. The panel described this as “an obvious flaw” in the case.

Former West Ham manager David Moyes and ex-referee Mark Clattenburg gave evidence on Paqueta’s behalf. Both argued his yellow-card offences fell within the normal course of play, with Clattenburg suggesting two of the cautions should not have been issued at all.

The commission also noted the FA had recovered more than 300 deleted messages from Paqueta’s phones, none of which related to gambling or the matches in question. It concluded that there was “nothing in his on-field conduct” to support the spot-fixing allegations.

Nick De Marco, part of Paqueta’s legal team, welcomed the outcome, calling it the “longest sports-related judgment ever issued worldwide” and evidence of how seriously the matter had been treated.

Paqueta, who joined West Ham from Lyon in 2022 for £36.5m, played a key role in the club’s Europa Conference League triumph in his debut season.