Gabby Agbonlahor explodes in West Ham rant at Lucas Paqueta – ‘I was shouting at the TV’
Gabby Agbonlahor has launched a scathing rant at Lucas Paqueta after he was sent off for West Ham in their 2-0 defeat to Liverpool on Sunday.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side held their own for large parts of the Premier League encounter, but they were ultimately beaten by goals from Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo.
Paqueta then made the situation even worse for West Ham as he was shown a second yellow card for dissent by Darren England, just seconds after being cautioned for the first time.
It is yet another negative headline surrounding the Brazilian, who has faced vitriol from West Ham fans after his dismissal.
Gabby Agbonlahor fumes at ‘petulant’ Lucas Paqueta
Paqueta reacted to his red card on X on Sunday evening, and he appeared to suggest that he has been failed by the footballing authorities in the aftermath of his FA investigation.
The midfielder was cleared of any wrongdoing in relation to his potential spot fixing charges, but it is clear that he feels the issue is still playing on him in the subsequent months.
The West Ham star’s 84th-minute dismissal effectively ended the game for his team, and Liverpool took advantage as Gakpo added the second goal in stoppage time.
Jarrod Bowen tried to pull Paqueta away from the referee during his enraged reaction to being booked, but he was unable to prevent his teammate from suffering the eventual consequences.
Agbonlahor has now cut into the 28-year-old for his actions, after suggesting on talkSPORT that he was baffled by what he saw from the star.
“I couldn’t believe it,” the former Aston Villa striker said during his breakfast show with Jeff Stelling.
” I was watching the game, and I was shouting at the TV, going ‘what are you doing? It’s 1-0, your team’s still got a chance. You’ve let your team down, you’ve let your manager down, you’re going to miss the next game.‘
“I get his post after where he’s saying he’s not been looked after, but what he’s done affected the team, the manager, the fans. It was arrogant, petulant, and he has that in his game, just get on with it.”
Paqueta’s post-match comments are baffling
West Ham have stood by Paqueta throughout the entire two years of his FA investigation, and they will surely be seething that this is how he has chosen to repay them.
The Brazilian let his team down with his actions on the pitch, but he missed a crucial chance to gain some respect back from the fanbase with his comments in the aftermath of the game.
The former AC Milan star tried to deflect the blame away from himself in his X post, rather than just accepting responsibility for his actions and acknowledging how unprofessional he had been.
Instead, the way that he reacted on social media has only fuelled the idea of him being petulant and arrogant.
Nuno will be keen to explore the situation further behind the scenes, but it would be no surprise if this incident ends up being the final straw for Paqueta at West Ham.