Available. Lucas Paquetá boarded his way to the United States to defend the Brazilian National Team in friendly matches and the Copa América.
The target of an investigation after being accused by the English FA of involvement in the manipulation of sports betting, the West Ham midfielder boarded on Wednesday night, 29th, alongside Bruno Guimarães, Douglas Luiz and João Gomes, to report to coach Dorival Júnior.
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United for the USA
- The group left Rio de Janeiro around 11pm (Brasília time) on a direct flight to Miami, from where they will take a train to Orlando, the Brazilian National Team’s base during this FIFA Date;
- The Brazilian delegation began arriving in the Florida city on Wednesday, including the coaching staff, staff and directors. The expectation is that 19 of the 26 called-up players will report between Thursday and Friday;
The English FA’s decision to accuse Paquetá so that an Independent Committee can conduct the investigation that will determine the verdict has generated internal debates within the CBF since last Thursday; - However, the perception was that this was a decision that went beyond the technical sphere and should be institutional, being the responsibility of President Ednaldo Rodrigues;
- By Friday, the trend was to keep the West Ham midfielder on the call-up list, since not even the English FA indicated a temporary suspension.
Released
At a solidarity event, President Ednaldo Rodrigues publicly addressed the issue, stating that the CBF would deal with the case with legal and compliance directors on Tuesday. According to him, there was no conviction against the athlete, only indications, and all possibilities would be heard.
The topic was no longer discussed and Paquetá is already on his way to report to Dorival Júnior. On the night of last Tuesday, the player was at the Maracanã cheering for Flamengo in the 3-0 victory over Millionarios, from Colombia, in the Libertadores.
The case
The English Football Association (FA) charged Lucas Paquetá with misconduct related to betting in four Premier League games.
The formal accusation, released by the FA last Thursday, alleged that Paquetá forced yellow cards in matches between November 2022 and August 2023. He had been under investigation since last August, but had not yet been formally charged.
According to the federation’s statement, Paquetá would have tried to directly influence the progress, conduct or any other aspect of these matches, intentionally seeking to receive a yellow card with the purpose of affecting the betting market.
Defense
Lucas Paquetá will have until June 3 to officially present his defense. The player denied the accusations in a social media post, saying he was surprised and saddened by the FA’s decision and that he would fight to clear his name.
West Ham also officially manifested, stating that they will continue to defend the player during the process and that they will not make any further comments until the conclusion of the case.
According to the FA, Paquetá would have violated the rules of conduct related to sports betting in the games against Leicester City, Aston Villa, Leeds United and Bournemouth. He received a yellow card in the four mentioned matches. The case started after a complaint about the yellow card given to Paquetá in the game against Aston Villa.
The investigation was motivated by an unusual volume of matched bets predicting that Paquetá would receive a yellow card in the West Ham vs Aston Villa game, and that Luiz Henrique would be cautioned with a yellow card in the Real Betis vs Villarreal match. Both players were booked.
Paquetá will now be heard by an independent commission and may receive a suspension if found guilty, according to the English press. The case is different from that of Ivan Toney, the English national team striker who was suspended for eight months for making bets on soccer games.
Remembering Zagallo
Sambafoot Series launched a new documentary about the football legend Zagallo. Known as ‘Velho Lobo‘ and as superstitious as it gets, Zagallo helped shape what Brazilian football is nowadays — as a player and as a coach.
Watch the full series, available on Sambafoot’s Youtube channel.
