Clear the charges! Brazilian superstar is injustice! Completely get rid of the suspicion of betting on football

As we all know, Brazilian midfielder Paqueta, who plays for West Ham United, has been deeply involved in the betting turmoil. He was investigated for two years for suspected intentional yellow cards and allowing his relatives to make profits through betting in four games between November 2022 and August 2023.

The four yellow cards considered abnormal occurred in the following four games↓

(1) In November 2022, against Leicester City (0-2 home)

Paqueta was fouled against Sumare in the 60th minute and the team was behind 0-1 and was warned by a yellow card.

(2) In March 2023, against Aston Villa (1-1 draw at home)

, he made a rough tackle against McGinn and was also shown a yellow card.

(3) In the 65th minute of May 2023 against Leeds United (3-1 home win)

, he tackled Sommerville in the midfield, blocked a counterattack and received a yellow card.

(4) In August 2023 against Bournemouth (1-1 away game)

injury time, Paqueta took the card again at the end of the game, and the relevant bets were then considered abnormal.

If convicted, the 27-year-old faced the severest punishment - a lifelong ban. But according to the latest news from the Times, Paqueta will be acquitted and will not be punished, and the FA will officially announce the decision next week.

It is understood that after Paqueta was officially acquitted, the FA will also compensate him about 1.5 million euros for lawyer fees.

Review the whole story of this matter. At that time, the total number of suspicious bets was received in these four games, with betting amounts ranging from 7 pounds to 400 pounds. The betting results were all "Paqueta received a yellow card", winning a total of about 100,000 pounds. Most of these bets came from the "Paqueta Island" off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, West Ham's sponsor at the time, Betway and many large bookmakers reported these abnormalities to the FA due to system warnings. But it is worth noting that Paqueta himself did not participate in any betting.

The FA formally filed charges against Paqueta in May last year after a nine-month investigation. In addition to betting on football, the FA added two charges to Paqueta of "failure to cooperate with the investigation". The hearing was held in March this year and did not come to an end until the end of the Premier League season. During the hearing, multiple witnesses, including former West Ham coach Moyes, appeared in court to testify.

It is worth mentioning that before the allegations were made public, Manchester City had reached a transfer agreement of 85 million pounds on Paqueta, but the deal fell out due to the initiation of the investigation.

Facing these serious allegations, Paqueta strongly denied and insisted that he was innocent. He said he knew nothing about the betting and pointed out that the FA's allegations lacked substantive evidence and too much inference.

He said emotionally on social media at the time: "I felt extremely shocked and angry. During the entire nine-month investigation, I cooperated throughout the whole process and provided all the information I had. I completely denied these allegations and will do my best to justify myself."

What is even more sad is that this protracted investigation seriously affected Paqueta's condition and psychology. He broke down after receiving a yellow card in the game against Tottenham in May 2025, and the scene of wiping tears with his jersey was heartbreaking. A few minutes later, he was replaced by the head coach.

Sources revealed that Paqueta was exhausted physically and mentally in the whole incident and is now finally expected to restart his career and get rid of this two-year shadow.

Finally, congratulations to Paqueta on eliminating the charges and hope that he can regain his strength in the new season.