Leeds United involved as Lucas Paqueta charged by FA at West Ham
West Ham star Lucas Paqueta has been charged by the FA for allegedly breaching betting rules, including a yellow card he picked up against Leeds United in a Premier League match last season.
The incident, which came in a 3-1 loss for Leeds at the London Stadium, saw Paqueta booked for a cheap foul on Crysencio Summerville, which was judged to be committed “for one or more persons to profit from betting”.
Daily Mail journalist Mike Keegan shared on X that Paqueta was also shown yellow cards in similar circumstances against Leicester, Aston Villa and Bournemouth.
Paqueta’s FA misconduct charge could lead to a potential ban for his actions, but it remains to be seen whether correspondence will be sought from Elland Road further down the line.
Paqueta incident brings back bad memories for Leeds United
Leeds United did very little to capitalise on Paqueta’s yellow card 25 minutes from the end of their penultimate Premier League match last season – if anything it aided West Ham.
The Whites were already on the way towards relegation by mid-May last year, and conceded late goals to Jarrod Bowen and Manuel Lanzini – the latter set up by Paqueta – to all but seal their fate going into the final day.
Keegan’s report doesn’t state if any of the four clubs involved in Paqueta’s supposedly deliberate bookings will be asked to give evidence, but in Leeds’ case, they’ll be hoping not, as many a fan will have done their best to erase the match itself from their memory.
That’s the case for much of last season’s dismal Premier League campaign, but this year, Daniel Farke’s side have put those bad memories to bed, and stand just one game away from returning to the top flight.
Sunday’s (26 May) Championship play-off final against Southampton stands between Leeds and the Premier League, and if successful, they’ll be looking forward to facing a West Ham side who, if an FA ban is imposed, could be without one of their best players in Paqueta.
In other Leeds news, Phil Hay has shared details of the bizarre agreement that saw one Whites starlet choose Elland Road over Manchester City.
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