Paqueta Could Sue Fa After Spot-fixing Acquittal

West Ham midfielder Lucas Paqueta is considering suing nan Football Association aft he was cleared of spot-fixing.

Sources adjacent to nan 28-year-old person told BBC Sport that nan player's lawyers are presently "considering each options".

The Brazilian was charged by nan FA successful May 2024 for allegedly getting booked deliberately for nan "improper intent of affecting nan betting market".

Paqueta was cleared connected 4 counts of expected spot-fixing by an independent committee successful July 2025.

Written reasons detailing nan commission's findings were published connected Wednesday, calling into mobility nan FA's determination not to telephone successful independent expertise connected nan cardinal area of betting data.

Paqueta's ineligible squad is now analysing nan lawsuit and considering each options successful response, including suing nan FA.

The FA's investigation into Paqueta began successful August 2023 - 9 months earlier nan Brazilian was yet charged.

The announcement of nan investigation led to nan illness of nan Brazilian's £80m move to Manchester City.

The committee noted that some Paqueta and West Ham would person "received important sums moving into nan tens of millions of pounds" and that "both nan subordinate and West Ham reserve each of their authorities successful that regard".

The FA, which has confirmed it will not beryllium appealing against nan decision, has been contacted for comment.

A 314-page archive prepared by Sports Resolutions - an independent and not-for-profit conflict solution work - provided item of nan case.

A scope of accusation - from erstwhile West Ham head David Moyes' views connected nan yellowish cards to conversations Paqueta's hairdresser mother Cristiane had successful a salon backmost successful Brazil - is covered by nan commission's written findings.

The FA claimed 542 bets totalling £46,758.83 were staked by 253 different bettors pinch a corporate return of £213,703.81, reflecting a nett profit of £166,944.98.

However, nan committee noted that nan FA's lawsuit rested "entirely connected circumstantial evidence" and nan determination to tender grounds connected nan betting information from 1 of its ain employees, betting integrity interrogator Tom Astley, was an "oddity" and "an evident flaw".

"In nan commission's view, connected what nan FA has accepted was nan astir important constituent of its case, it simply did not telephone independent master evidence," nan committee said successful nan written findings.

"Instead, it relies connected nan grounds of its integrity interrogator and asks nan committee to judge that he has shown nan impartiality that would person been expected of an independent expert."

In his evidence, Astley said nan betting connected Paqueta "appears highly orchestrated".

The committee said nan FA's ineligible counsel subsequently disagreed pinch Astley's appraisal and was "thus abandoning, without further explanation, its lawsuit connected orchestration".

The FA said 27 of nan 253 bettors could beryllium linked to nan player, but Paqueta maintained he only had a existent narration pinch 5 of nan people.

He said he did not speak to nan 5 regularly, and moreover then, seldom astir football.

The committee concluded that an study of nan betting information was not "illustrative of a spot-fix" and added it was "in galore respects inconsistent pinch a spot-fix, but accordant pinch replacement explanations".

Nick de Marco, portion of Paqueta's ineligible team, said: "I stay delighted for my customer Lucas, cleared of each nan superior charges of spot-fixing.

"The determination is understood to beryllium nan longest sports-related judgement ever issued successful nan world - a reflection of really superior nan lawsuit was, nan magnitude of grounds deployed successful what was nan biggest lawsuit successful nan FA's history."

Ex-West Ham head Moyes, now successful complaint of Everton, and erstwhile Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg gave grounds connected Paqueta's behalf from a capacity perspective.

Moyes said he had "re-watched nan yellowish paper incidents closely" and "consider them to beryllium wholly wrong nan normal scope of actions for this player".

Clattenburg disagreed pinch findings presented by Stats Perform Integrity Services (SPIS) successful support of nan FA's case, and felt 2 of nan 4 yellowish cards should not person been shown.

"Each situation is comfortably wrong nan sphere of things that hap aggregate times each match, some individually and erstwhile taken successful conjunction pinch each other," Clattenburg said.

The committee concluded location was "nothing successful Paqueta's on-field conduct" which precocious nan FA's lawsuit that he had deliberately sought to beryllium booked successful immoderate of nan 4 games.

The committee recovered nan FA's inability to find 1 point of information from either of nan player's mobile phones that moreover mentioned betting aliases had immoderate relationship to 1 of nan 4 games related to nan charges was a important constituent successful favour of Paqueta's defence and indicated he was being truthful astir his deficiency of liking successful gambling.

The FA accepted it could not beryllium proved Paqueta had deliberately deleted immoderate messages aliases contacts.

More than 300 deleted messages were recovered, nary of which had thing to do pinch spot-fixing.

The committee said this was "a salient reminder to nan committee not to jump to conclusions and nan dangers of drafting adverse inferences from events unknown".