The UK betting market is highly regulated, with several tools to prevent fraud and manipulation. One of these mechanisms detected an unusual volume in a matched bet involving midfielder Lucas Paquetá and striker Luis Henrique, then at Betis in Spain and currently at Botafogo.
Both received yellow cards in their respective games.
The bets were placed on the island of Paquetá, in Rio de Janeiro, the birthplace of the West Ham midfielder. People close to the player would have benefited. In addition to this case, the player is under investigation for three other yellow cards.
People close to Lucas Paquetá benefited from results
Thus, after nine months of analysis, the English Football Federation denounced the Brazilian for violating conduct related to sports betting. So, if they find Lucas Paquetá guilty, they can ban him from English football.
England has strict rules and severe punishments to preserve a market that generates almost 30 billion reais in annual taxes.
A similar case to that of Lucas Paquetá is that of defender Kynan Isaac, who was banned for 10 years after forcing a yellow card to benefit a friends’ betting scheme.
Lucas Paquetá claims to be innocent and has until June 3rd to present his defense. The investigation is limited to English football, which allows the player to continue defending the Brazilian team in the Copa América.
However, the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) is analyzing the case. The player was removed from the Brazilian team last year due to the investigation into the case. He recently returned in coach Dorival Júnior’s first call-up.
