Former West Ham boss David Moyes will provide a witness statement in defence of Lucas Paqueta, whose betting hearing began this week.
The Football Association are seeking a lifetime ban for the West Ham midfielder after Paqueta was charged with breaching betting rules in May 2024.
The Brazilian’s hearing started on Monday and is expected to last three weeks, which is set to be one of the longest court proceedings in the FA’s history.
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These are the four Lucas Paqueta yellow cards that led to the West Ham midfielder being charged by the FA for alleged breaches of betting rules
The 27-year-old was charged with spot-fixing offences in four Premier League matches.
Paqueta did not place any bets and he denies any wrongdoing.
The FA has charged him in relation to his conduct in matches against Leicester in November 2022, Aston Villa in March 2023, Leeds in May 2023 and Bournemouth last August.
The bets in question are believed to have been placed by friends and family, with some 60 bets in total for relatively small stakes.
Half of the suspicious bets at the heart of the case were under £50, with most under £100.
One was for £7, while one of the bets, placed by a relative, was flagged as “unusually large” because it was $40 (£30).
Paqueta withdrew from Brazil’s squad this international window so he would be available to give evidence at the hearing.
His defence will argue that he has a poor disciplinary record that gamblers were aware of and that is why bets were placed on him to receive yellow cards.
Since he moved to West Ham in August 2022, he has received 22 yellow cards – more than anyone else at the club. In the same period, only five Premier League players have been shown more yellow cards.
Paqueta will also argue he had asked not to play in the game against Bournemouth because he was close to joining Manchester City – so there could not have been an organised conspiracy to be booked.
The FA charges from 2024 state that Paqueta tried to “influence the progress, conduct, or any other aspect of, or occurrence in these matches by intentionally seeking to receive a card from the referee for the improper purpose of affecting the betting market in order for one or more persons to profit from betting.”
Paqueta was also charged with two breaches of FA Rule F3 in respect of alleged failures to comply pursuant to FA Rule F2, which relates to providing information and documents.
In a statement at the time, Paqueta said: “I am extremely surprised and upset that the FA has decided to charge me.
“For nine months, I have cooperated with every step of their investigation and provided all the information I can.
“I deny the charges in their entirety and will fight with every breath to clear my name. Due to the ongoing process, I will not be providing any further comment.”
