Lucas Paqueta summoned to Brazil this month in new West Ham United charge update
West Ham star Lucas Paqueta has been told to appear at a “game manipulation and sports betting” hearing on 29 October, according to GE Globo.
The Brazilian outlet reported on 10 October that Paqueta, currently away on international duty, has been summoned to appear at a hearing by Brazil’s Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (CPI).
Brazil’s CPI of game manipulation and sports betting will hear testimony from Paqueta after senator Jorge Kajuru declared an official summons to the Hammers midfielder after his respective FA charges.
Paqueta is charged with FA betting breaches over alleged deliberate yellow cards in four matches, while his uncle Bruno Tolentino has also been summoned as part of the Brazilian Senate’s investigation.
West Ham cannot be distracted by Lucas Paqueta charges
Since reports surfaced last season regarding Paqueta’s irregular bookings and the strange betting patterns which coincided with them, the Hammers will have had to develop a contingency plan.
The Brazilian is one of Julen Lopetegui’s key players and has been talismanic in East London over the last two seasons, but 29 October’s hearing could set in motion a period where he’s unavailable.
Paqueta could potentially face a lifetime ban if found guilty of FA betting breaches, although his hearing with English football’s hierarchy isn’t set to take place until March 2025 [Sun on Sunday, 6 October].
That leaves Paqueta’s team-mates and fans wondering if he will be unavailable for selection for long periods of the season, with the October hearing sandwiched between two Premier League matches.
Regardless, the Hammers must be prepared to be without Paqueta for varying periods over the next few months, whether that’s for a few games at a time, or potentially, unthinkably, the remainder of his career.
In other West Ham news, one Irons star will be looking to put Julen Lopetegui on notice after his first-ever international call-up.
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