Paquetá cleared of spot-fixing, guilty on two misconduct counts

An independent commission has published its full written reasons clearing West Ham midfielder Lucas Paquetá of four spotfixing charges but finding him guilty of two lesser misconduct offences for failing to cooperate with the Football Association investigation. The 314 page judgement, released on Wednesday, closes a two year probe that began in August 2023 and had threatened Paquetá with a lengthy ban and the collapse of a high value transfer to Manchester City.

The commission concluded there was insufficient evidence to prove Paquetá intentionally sought yellow cards to influence betting markets in four Premier League matches between November 2022 and August 2023. It criticised key aspects of the FA case, in particular the governing body’s decision to rely on inhouse betting analysis rather than call independent data experts, and described parts of the prosecution as contradictory. The FA has said it will not appeal the commission’s decision.

FA investigators had argued that 253 separate bettors placed stakes totalling about 47,000 pounds on Paquetá being booked across the four games, producing a combined profit of roughly 167,000 pounds. The commission found those patterns...