West Ham star Lucas Paqueta reportedly asked manager David Moyes to leave him out of a game in which he received a controversial yellow card.
Paqueta has been charged by the FA with breaking betting rules, with four specific yellow cards identified for suspicious betting patterns.
The 26-year-old denies the charges and issued a statement in which he said he was surprised and upset
As reported by The Sun, Paqueta asked Moyes not to play in West Ham’s opening game of the Premier League season away to Bournemouth in August 2023, which ended in a 1-1 draw.
Paqueta was eager to avoid suffering an injury that could have prevented him from securing an £80million move to Manchester City.
The possible move didn’t occur after City learned of the FA investigation.
Paqueta featured against Bournemouth and was booked for a handball in the third minute of stoppage time at the end of the second half. He was substituted in the closing stages of the game.
It was that yellow card which led to the FA investigation into Paqueta, who could be banned for ten years if he is found guilty.
Yellow cards that Paqueta received against Leicester, Aston Villa and Leeds during the 2022-23 campaign are also under scrutiny.
Paqueta has until Monday to respond to charges that he deliberately received yellow cards in order to help his friends earn money through betting.
Although Paqueta didn’t refuse to play against Bournemouth he made it clear that he didn’t want to feature.
The report indicates that Paqueta eventually agreed to play after senior figures at West Ham intervened.
Moyes had indicated that he would look to substitute Paqueta earlier to minimise the chances of him being injured, but he remained on the pitch for the majority of the game
From the 70th minute Paqueta was seen frequently looking over at the bench, which suggested he wanted to be substituted.
Wagers on Paqueta getting yellow cards were placed from an island bearing his name 6,000 miles away.
