The Football Association has said it will not appeal against the decision by an independent commission to clear West Ham midfielder Lucas Paqueta of four spot-fixing charges. The written reasons for the commission’s decisions in the case were published on Wednesday afternoon.
Sanctions on two counts that were proven – in connection with an alleged failure to cooperate with the FA inquiry – would be determined by the commission at the earliest possible date, said the FA.
“The FA is devoted to upholding the integrity of football, and proper and extensive investigations will always be made into severe accusations of rule violations,” said the governing body in a statement.
He was alleged to have deliberately asked to receive a card in four Premier League matches between November 2022 and August 2023, but all these offenses were found not proven.
Alastair Campbell, Partner at Level and leader of the legal team acting for Paqueta stated: “This ruling reveals that Lucas was forced to go to extremes in order to establish his innocence. It was only with such a thorough investigation that it was possible to show that such supposed ‘suspicious’ betting patterns did not reflect spot-fixing, and that his playing in such targeted matches was not that of a player seeking to get carded.”
“Lucas is a religious man to his core, completely devoted to his wife and young family. What was proven was that not only has he no interest in gambling at all, but that his integrity both as a player and as a human being is unquestionable. With no unresolved case over his head, he can get out of talking to lawyers and do what is most important to him: faith, family and football.”
“We are still submitting on charge of non-cooperation. But in a case where his entire career was at stake, Lucas is undoubtedly the successful party.”
“It’s great to witness him playing like that without having this burden on him – he has his mojo again.”
