According to ‘The Sun’, the English Football Association is currently investigating relatives of the West Ham player for betting, in this case involving former Real Betis player Luiz Henrique and Spanish football.
The Lucas Paqueta betting investigation does not stop at the Brazilian footballer. According to ‘The Sun’, several of the player’s family members are also being investigated by the English Football Federation about betting involving former Real Betis player Luiz Henrique.
Bruno and Yan Tolentino admitted to paying Luiz Henrique around 6,000 euros days after the current Botafogo player received two suspicious yellow cards in Spanish football. These cautions prompted an investigation by La Liga and the Spanish Federation which was linked to that of the West Ham midfielder in English football.
After examining what happened, the Spanish authorities decided not to sanction the 23-year-old, but Real Betis ended up transferring him to Botafogo this past summer for more than 20 million euros.
In this case, the integrity alert was triggered by Betway, the bookmaker that sponsors West Ham, where Lucas Paqueta plays. Many of the bets involving the midfielder that ultimately triggered an investigation were from family and friends of the Brazilian international.
In an interview with ‘UOL’ in Brazil, Bruno Tolentino admitted to making a payment to Luiz Henrique after winning money betting on his matches, but denied that these bets had come after any tip-offs and criminal activity.
The English Football Association declined to comment to ‘The Sun’ on the matter, but implied that they were unaware of the bets in relation to Luiz Henrique, and will now investigate these moves thoroughly. Meanwhile, Lucas Paqueta is still awaiting a date for a hearing at which the FA will decide on his sanction.