Lucas Paqueta faces another frustrating wait to discover if he has grounds to appeal against verdicts that he failed to comply with the FA’s spot-fixing probe that could have ended his career.
The Brazilian was cleared on Thursday of deliberately picking up four yellow cards to influence betting markets, almost two years after Mail Sport broke the news that the West Ham midfielder was under investigation.
An independent commission found Paqueta guilty on two charges of failing to answer questions and provide information to the FA’s investigation — he denied both — for which he is likely to be fined.
Paqueta must now wait for the written judgment from the trial to be published, which Mail Sport understands could take two to three weeks, before deciding whether to launch an appeal.
‘They are charges we take seriously — we do need to go through the process with them with the FA and the commission,’ Alastair Campbell, head of Paqueta’s legal team at London firm Level, told Mail Sport.
‘We need to pay that due respect. We are obviously of the view that Lucas did co-operate with the investigation so we have to look at the reasons when they are available to advise him on that.’
Lucas Paqueta must wait to learn if he has grounds to take legal action against the FA
The West Ham star could appeal against verdicts that he failed to comply with the FA’s spot-fixing probe
Paqueta was cleared of deliberately picking up four yellow cards to influence betting markets
Mail Sport revealed on Friday that Paqueta would consider taking legal action against the FA for loss of earnings once the written reasons were published.
The 27-year-old was on the verge of an £85million move to Manchester City when news of the investigation caused the deal to collapse.
‘In terms of whether there might be any action against the FA, it’s certainly something we’ll look at when we get the reasons and advise Lucas on his options,’ added Campbell.
West Ham are unlikely to take legal action against the FA, with club insiders suggesting it would not be a good look for football to sue the game’s custodians.
The FA could launch their own appeal against Paqueta’s acquittal over the spot-fixing charges when the judgment is published.
They face the prospect of picking up the fee for Paqueta’s legal bills, understood to be around £1.5m.
