The English Football Federation (FA) investigates a complaint it received about a bet that involved a yellow card from the West Ham athlete, who was in negotiations to go to Manchester City, a deal that is now on hold.
The federation's investigation began after a strange volume of matched bets on two games of the same day, one in the Premier League and another in the Spanish Championship, emerged. In this case, the matched bet predicted that Lucas Paquetá would take a yellow card against Aston Villa, during a West Ham game in the Premier League. The other side depended on Luiz Henrique, who would receive the same warning, in a match against Villarreal, from Real Betis, in La Liga. The two took the cards.
The bets were placed in the city of Duque de Caxias, in Baixada Fluminense, Rio de Janeiro, on the Betway website, the house that sponsors West Ham, but which is far from being one of the most popular in Brazil, on accounts linked to people close to Paquetá and Luiz Henrique. What drew attention was that it was an unusual betting model.
According to an initial analysis, that day several new accounts were created on the betting site, with users depositing the maximum amount allowed. The accounts made a matched bet to increase the winnings. The perpetrators would only win the money if both athletes were punished on the same day, March 12th.
In the UK game, Paquetá was booked in the second half. In Spain, Luiz Henrique came on in the 12th minute of the second half and was booked at the 43rd minute. Curiously, both matches ended 1-1. After the leagues are over, the authorities scan for possible suspicious cases, causing the Brazilian to be under investigation in the country he plays.
This Monday (21st), the star of the Brazilian national team, who was left out of Fernando Diniz's list due to the controversy, will go to the FA headquarters to give his version and will not give any statement on what happened. Sought by Brazilian and international newspapers, Luiz Henrique, Betis, West Ham and La Liga did not speak on the subject.
Source: GMB
