West Ham forward Lucas Paqueta cleared of spot-fixing charges
The English Football Association confirmed Thursday that an independent panel had found the charges unproven.
'Lucas Paqueta denied the charges against him, and the Regulatory Commission found them to be not proven following a hearing,' the FA said in a statement.
The ruling brings to an end a long-running case against the Brazil international, who was charged in May 2024.
The FA had claimed the 27-year-old Paqueta intentionally sought to be booked in four separate games — against Leicester, Aston Villa, Leeds and Bournemouth between November 2022 and August 2023 'in order for one or more persons to profit from betting.'
Blackstone Chambers, representing Paqueta, said it was understood to be the longest case in FA history.
Paqueta was charged with breaches of FA Rule E5 related to integrity of matches and competitions.
The rule sates a participant 'shall not, directly or indirectly, seek to influence for an improper purpose the result, progress, conduct or any other aspect of, or occurrence in or in connection with, a football match or competition.'
The panel did uphold two charges against Paqueta for failing to answer questions and provide information to the FA's investigation. The governing body said it would determine an appropriate sanction at the earliest opportunity.
Full reasons for the verdict have not yet been published.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
15 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Florida QB DJ Lagway practices for the 1st time in camp while recovering from a calf injury
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Florida quarterback DJ Lagway practiced Saturday for the first time since camp opened, a sign of progress for the highly touted and oft-injured sophomore. Lagway is dealing with a strained calf and was expected to take limited practice reps. He wore a sleeve on his left leg, the same one that caused him to miss a game and a half last season. He strained a hamstring against rival Georgia and missed the following week's game at Texas. Coach Billy Napier has offered no timetable on his star player's return. It's the latest injury issue for Lagway, who missed spring practice with a shoulder injury after undergoing sports hernia surgery. The Gators opened training camp Wednesday. Napier, unlike in previous years, closed viewing periods to media for the first three days. Lagway, who went 6-1 in seven starts as a freshman in 2024, is widely considered a Heisman Trophy contender heading into this season. But he's barely been on the field at a time when he could be making significant strides. He was limited during spring practice because of the right shoulder injury that could eventually need surgery. He resumed throwing in late April and said earlier this month at Southeastern Conference media days he would fully participate in camp. But then he strained a calf muscle while running with the team last week. Lagway completed 60% of his passes for 1,915 yards, with 12 touchdowns and nine interceptions in 2024. He took over the starting role after Graham Mertz tore a knee ligament at Tennessee in October. Behind Lagway are journeyman Harrison Bailey and sophomore Aidan Warner. Bailey played at Tennessee, UNLV and Louisville before transferring to Florida earlier this year. Warner subbed for Lagway last year and was mostly ineffective. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: and
Yahoo
15 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Charley Hull dazzles despite her tee shot nearly hitting Minjee Lee at Women's British Open
With seven birdies in her first 13 holes, Charley Hull lit up crowds early Saturday during the third round of the 2025 AIG Women's British Open at Royal Porthcawl in Wales. The round started off with a bit of an "oops" moment, however, when Hull hit a wayward tee shot off the fourth tee that almost hit Minjee Lee as Lee prepared to tee off the 17th. "Nearly took Minjee out," said Dame Laura Davies from the booth. Hull went on to par the hole and then rattled off three consecutive birdies. "When I hit it, I shouted fore right, but I said hope it's on the tee box and it was so, it was all right," said Hull. "I like Minjee. I wouldn't want to take her out." Hull posted a 6-under 66 with 23 putts to jump up the board. As of 1:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, Hull was three back and in a share of fourth with Megan Khang and Minami Katsu, who shot 65. "I like hunting someone down," said Hull, who entered the tournament with question marks due to her health. Hull left the last major championship on a stretcher after coming down with a virus and then recently tweaked her back getting a box out of her car. She lost weight and swing speed during recovery and probably didn't have huge expectations for the week, especially given her dislike of links golf. And yet, there she is, solidly in position to make a run on Sunday. It's been quite a run for English players of late, with Georgia Hall sitting in a share of eighth at 4 under after a 68 and Mimi Rhodes T-10 at 3 under alongside compatriot Lottie Woad, who shot 71 on Saturday. "It being so close to home, yeah, I've had so much family out here supporting and cheering for me," said Rhodes. "Honestly, it's just been better than a dream come true." Keep tabs on all the action from Saturday's third round at the AIG Women's Open with our live updates page. This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Women's British Open 2025: Charley Hull tee shot nearly hits Minjee Lee
Yahoo
15 minutes ago
- Yahoo
I'm just useless, says Hamilton after team-mate's pole
Hungarian Grand Prix Venue: Hungaroring Dates: 1-3 August Race start: 14:00 BST on Sunday Coverage: Live commentary of practice and qualifying on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 2 with race on BBC Radio 5 Live; live text updates on BBC Sport website and app Lewis Hamilton said he was "just useless" after qualifying 12th for the Hungarian Grand Prix while his Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc took pole position. Hamilton failed to progress beyond the second qualifying session after struggling for pace compared to Leclerc all weekend. Leclerc took Ferrari's first grand prix pole position of the year, although Hamilton won the Chinese Grand Prix sprint race from pole at the second event of the season. A downcast Hamilton said: "I drove terribly. It is what it is." He added: "I'm just useless," and said his lack of pace was "nothing to do with the car". In Hungary, Hamilton was 0.247secs slower than Leclerc in the second part of qualifying, in which he was knocked out and the Monegasque was sixth fastest. Hamilton is 12-5 down to Leclerc on their qualifying head-to-head this year, at an average pace difference of 0.146 seconds. His form on Saturdays in 2025 continues the struggles in qualifying Hamilton had against George Russell in his final year at Mercedes last season. Even so, his result in Hungary bucks a trend in which he has generally been much closer to Leclerc since the seventh race of the season. Belgium last weekend, in which he was knocked out in the first session in qualifying for both the sprint and the grand prix after making mistakes, had been an exception to that run. Although clearly frustrated by his own performance, Hamilton congratulated Leclerc on his pole. "It's amazing for the team that the car is capable of being on pole," the seven-time champion said, "so big congrats to Charles." Leclerc came into the weekend talking about how he had never gelled with the Hungaroring during his career, but he ends Saturday with arguably the most surprising and unexpected pole position of the year. Leclerc had been third fastest behind the McLarens in all three practice sessions, but the world champions appeared out of reach. However, a change in wind direction between the second and final parts of qualifying threw McLaren off their game and opened the door for Leclerc, who beat championship leader Oscar Piastri to pole with Lando Norris third. Leclerc said he "didn't understand" because the car felt bad throughout qualifying. But he and the McLaren drivers put the shift in competitiveness down to a change in weather conditions, when not only did the wind change direction by 180 degrees, but the strength of the wind, the temperature and humidity level all changed. "In Q3, the conditions changed for everybody," Leclerc said. "I basically just did a clean lap, which was a really good lap because those conditions were really difficult to get everything right, and I was really happy about the lap. "It is probably the most surprising pole position I have ever done, so I'm very happy." Leclerc said that revisions to the car at the last race in Belgium had helped his confidence when pushing to the limit over one qualifying lap. Ferrari introduced a new rear suspension which in addition to being aimed at allowing them to run the car lower without risking damaging the floor to the extent that car failed its post-race legality tests was also intended to improve driveability when combined with a new floor introduced three races ago in Austria. Leclerc said: "The upgrade in Spa definitely helped me to extract a little bit more. "Before Spa, I had to set up the car in a very, very extreme way early on in the season to try and extract something out of this car in qualifying. "It was making the car very, very unpredictable and very difficult whenever you go for the 0.1-0.15secs in Q3. It was extremely difficult to get it right. And if you just overstepped a little bit the limits of that previous car, then you will pay the price a lot. "Whereas with this car, you can play a little bit more with the limits, and if you go over the limits a little bit, you just don't lose as much. So the car is more predictable, which is a good thing." Spectacular Leclerc takes surprise Hungarian Grand Prix pole Verstappen says he will race with Red Bull in 2026 Andrew Benson Q&A: Send us your questions Can Leclerc beat the McLarens to win? Beating the McLarens to pole position is one thing, winning the race is another, as McLaren's race pace has been the team's strongest suit this year. Leclerc said: "There is some rain around and if it's wet it's easier to overtake but it is always better to be starting first, especially on this track." Piastri, who heads into the race 16 points ahead of Norris in the championship, described the result of qualifying as "bizarre and somewhat frustrating". But he said he was "pretty confident" he could win from second on the grid, as he did last year, when Norris was on pole. "Our pace has been good," Piastri said. "But Charles has been quick all weekend in certain sessions. So it is a very difficult track to overtake on. And yeah, it's not going to be the easiest place to try and regain the lead." Norris said: "There could be some rain, which normally makes things more interesting. But we always have, at least in the race, a bit more of an advantage. "But our main competitor over the last four or five races has been Charles, and it's been the Ferrari. So if there was anyone else going to be on pole today, it was going to be Charles. And if there's anyone that's going to make our life tough tomorrow, it's going to be the same guy. "So, yeah, we'll see. It's a long race. Things can happen and hopefully the rain can be on our side, maybe."
