(Credit Hasan Karim, Breaking Media/Imago)

James Humphreys

Wed 9 April 2025 14:38, UK

Lucas Paqueta faces an anxious wait to discover the outcome of his spot-fixing charges with the court hearing adjourned due a “perplexing” reason.

The initial hearing did not conclude in the original allotted three-week slot, that ended last Friday (4 April), with the independent panel ruling the case to be too complex.

The FA are seeking a lifetime ban for the 27-year-old, after charging him with four accounts of spot-fixing relating to bets placed prior to picking up suspicious yellow cards against Leicester City, Aston Villa, Leeds United and Bournemouth during the 2022/23 season.

In spite of the allegations, Paqueta has received full-backing from current club West Ham, who are believed to be upset with the FA’s handling of the situation.

Now, talkSPORT pundit Simon Jordan has claimed that the reason behind Paqueta’s court date being adjourned until the summer is “ludicrous”, with the Brazilian’s own lawyers unavailable, and that issues like this need to be resolved as quickly as possible.

Paqueta’s court hearing adjourned due to ‘ludicrous’ reason

Speaking live on talkSport on Tuesday (8 April), Chief Football Correspondent, Alex Crook reported that he had been told Manchester City could make another attempt to sign Paqueta after their “done deal” to sign the Brazilian last summer fell through in light of the betting scandal.

However, if a decision on the hearing has not been made before the transfer window opens, Crook suggested that City may “look at other targets”.

Cost-host Jim White then relayed information that Paqueta’s court date had been adjourned until after the end of the season due to the lawyers representing the midfielder having “other commitments”, in which Jordan replied: “That’s ludicrous isn’t it? I find that relatively ludicrous, you should have a timeline for when these incidents are sorted.

“We’ve tried to manage the affairs of football clubs detailing their accounts so that windows time can be managed in and that consequences can be dealt with in real time.

“Here we have a situation where a very significant charge has been leathered against a player [Paqueta], I’m not really interested in Manchester City‘s opportunity to buy him. If there is an integrity issue it has to be managed very carefully and if you [The FA] are going to bring charges of this nature, I would assume you have a very, very good reason to bring them.

“The fact that the player’s representation is unavailable is perplexing and I’m not entirely sure if The FA can do much about it, because if they do they and say you [Paqueta’s team] have to use different representation then they will claim prejudice and that they are being disadvantaged by the nature of having to change council.”

The former Crystal Palace chairman then went on to suggest that football is becoming a “cottage industry” for the legal trade, adding: “What’s happening in football now is that lawyers are involved, it’s a cottage industry with more money being made.

“If you are going to do anything in football set up a legal firm, you will make more money from it than anything else because the opportunities are there, and now you have a situation where we are going into the post season for a judgement to be forthcoming on the basis of something which should be answerable as quickly as possible.”

Paqueta situation needs to be clarified for all parties’ sake

Football Insider Verdict

The fact that the court hearing has been pushed back until after the end of the season may not be the good news that it may appear on the surface for West Ham.

It’s already been 10 months since Paqueta was originally charged and it’s fair to say that it has impacted his performances this term.

Whilst there are little doubts over the attacking midfielder’s technical quality, often this season he has found himself largely ineffective in the final third.

During his time in France, Paqueta was a player known for his ability to create chances, however is yet to register one in 30 appearances.

Perhaps this is partly down to being utilised in unnatural positions out-wide and slightly deeper, but it will be a concern to Graham Potter that his main creative asset is not firing, and it is easy to join the dots between his personal form and the off-pitch saga.

With West Ham having little to play for before the end of the season it could be argued that the best case scenario for all parties would be to resolve Paqueta’s long-term future in football.

Kevin De Bruyne’s imminent departure from the Etihad makes this an obvious point for Paqueta to be in their sights, but as things stand that move may prove to be one that never gets made.