Former player Kynan Isaac, suspended for ten years due to a betting scheme in England, said that Brazilian Lucas Paquetá should be removed for 40 years. He has received the biggest punishment for betting in English football to date.
Kynan Isaac, speaking to North American portal The Athletic, said: “You can’t give me a ten-year suspension for one charge and then expect me to say nothing if someone with four of those same charges gets a lesser sentence.”
The former full-back hopes that English sports justice maintains the same guidelines. “We will see what they will do with Paquetá, if he will be found guilty. It will be very interesting to see if they follow the same guidelines they established.
I got ten years. It’s basic math: he should get 40 years and not play football again. Do I see this happening? Probably not.”
The former player also clarified that he does not want Paquetá to be banned, however he highlighted the need for consistency in punishments.
“I don’t want him to be banned, but if they banned me for ten years for a single charge, they have set a precedent and they will certainly have to continue with those same guidelines.”
The case of Kynan Isaac
Kynan Isaac was found guilty of receiving a yellow card in a game against Shrewsbury Town, in 2021. He played for Stratford Town, from the English seventh division, and did not cooperate with the investigations.
“I saw some of the yellow ones, they are ridiculous. He commits a foul, gets up and runs after another player to make another foul just to make sure he gets a yellow card,” he explained.
Accusations against Lucas Paquetá
The English Football Association accuses Lucas Paquetá of having received four yellow cards on purpose so that one or more people could profit from betting.
The games in question were against Leicester (2022), Aston Villa (2023), Leeds (2023) and Bournemouth (2023), all valid for the English Championship.
Despite the accusations, the Brazilian is able to play for the club and the Brazilian national team. However, West Ham has already finished its commitments this season, and Brazil will compete in the Copa América, with Paquetá being part of Dorival Jr’s squad.
Last Tuesday (18), the Senate’s CPI for Gaming and Sports Betting Manipulation approved the invitation to the player to give a statement. Parliamentarians are investigating alleged irregularities in Brazilian football, but want to hear from the midfielder.