Lucas Paqueta ban: Keith Wyness reacts to new West Ham ‘whispers’
Everton’s former chief Keith Wyness has urged the FA to expedite a decision on a potential betting rule breach ban for West Ham star Lucas Paqueta.
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, the 66-year-old – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – claimed there is no reason the English top-flight can’t resolve this case before the start of the 2024-25 campaign.
Paqueta was hit with six FA charges in May over alleged spot-fixing surrounding yellow cards received in four Premier League games.
The midfielder denied the allegations in a statement on X (23 May) and said he was “extremely surprised and upset” by the charges.
An FA investigation was prompted after betting activity in Brazil on Paqueta receiving a yellow card in West Ham’s home game against Aston Villa last year.
West Ham star Paqueta should discover ban fate before 2024-25 season kicks off, says Wyness
Wyness claimed it is a “black and white” case and should be resolved before West Ham kick-off against Aston Villa on 17 August.
He told Football Insider‘s Insider Track podcast: “We saw with Ivan Toney this process take a long, long time.
“I think it was around six months.
“We don’t know the full details with Paqueta – where the bets were made, etc. I’ve heard various whispers and various versions, and I don’t want to comment on that.
“But all these things should be expedited. Decisions are taking too long in many areas of the FA and Premier League.
“This is pretty black and white. Either they’ve got the information, or they haven’t.
“I don’t know what takes so long. This shouldn’t take longer than three months to sort out.
“As long as people have the chance to respond and show evidence, that’s all the process you need and it doesn’t take longer than two or three months. Ideally, the FA will have this sorted before the start of the season.
“Players can’t have these things hanging over them. If they’re innocent, then these things need to be cleared up as soon as possible.”
In other news, defender undergoing West Ham medical after terms agreed.
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