West Ham United fear shared over Lucas Paqueta as FA charges update emerges
Senior figures at West Ham United “fear” that the FA will ultimately decide to ban Lucas Paqueta for life, according to The Athletic.
The outlet reported on its website on Thursday (13 June) that people in charge at the London Stadium internally worry that the Brazilian international will be punished severely having been charged for four instances of spot-fixing.
The charges relate to yellow cards the Hammers midfielder received in games against Leicester City, Aston Villa, Leeds United and Bournemouth over the last two seasons following his move from Lyon.
Reports have suggested that the FA want to ban Paqueta for life after the actual details of the betting charges came to light in their investigation [The Sun, 4 June].
Will West Ham star Lucas Paqueta be banned for betting charges at the London Stadium?
Paqueta may not have yet even been proven guilty, but there is a genuine feeling of dread around the London Stadium at this moment in time around what could happen to the Brazilian if and when his hearing takes place.
The FA must have a genuine chance of ensuring he gets a lifetime ban if those in charge at the football club believe there is a genuine possibility of it occurring. Should that be the case it would be disastrous for the Irons.
Not only would they be losing their star player, but they would also be losing an opportunity to earn a big transfer fee as the midfielder would have almost certainly moved to Manchester City or somewhere else this summer.
If it is true, Paqueta does have nobody to blame but himself and you have to imagine the FA will have some concrete evidence to level these sort of charges against him, but he is innocent until proven guilty.
Hopefully, the Hammers’ fears are unnecessary and the punishment will be much less than anyone ever initially feared.
In other West Ham news, a European giant has joined the summer transfer race for Ben Johnson at the London Stadium
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