Ten-year ban for Lucas Paqueta? West Ham fear Brazil star's career may be over if found guilty of betting breaches

On Thursday, Paqueta was officially charged by the Football Association for alleged breaches of betting regulations. The charge relates to four instances where Paqueta allegedly deliberately received a yellow card during West Ham's clashes against Leicester, Aston Villa, Leeds and Bournemouth in 2022 and 2023. The Brazilian has completely denied the allegations and has vowed to clear his name.

According to The Daily Mail, if the winger is found guilty in these incidents, he could face a 10-year ban, similar to what happened to former Reading defender Kynan Isaac, who was banned from football for a decade years after purposefully getting booked while playing for Stratford Town in an FA Cup first-round match against Shrewsbury three years ago.

Meanwhile, West Ham are fearful that Paqueta's career could be over if he is handed such a punishment and are looking at their legal options going forward, according to The Guardian.

Regarding alleged noncompliance with FA rule F2, which deals with delivering information and records, Paqueta has also been accused of two breaches of FA regulation F3. After being interrogated by the FA in September of last year, Paqueta allowed them access to his phone in October.

The Brazilian has until June 3 to formally address the accusations against him. Later this summer, a disciplinary hearing is expected to be scheduled with an independent panel likely to take charge of the case.