The English Premier League (EPL) has another gambling scandal, according to the Daily Mail, Westham midfielder Lucas Pacqueda is suspected of betting on soccer matches, violating the English FA regulations, and is being investigated by the authorities. Manchester City originally planned to buy the 25-year-old Brazilian international for 70 million pounds (about HK$700 million), but the plan has now been forced to collapse.
Lucas Pacqueda, who is suspected of betting on soccer matches in Brazil through a "sidekick", has been investigated by the FA but has not yet been formally summoned, according to FA regulations, which prohibit players at all levels of the league from betting on soccer matches. Lucas Pakida immediately denied any involvement in gambling and is seeking legal advice to clear his name.
Following the revelation, City immediately halted plans to sign the midfielder, and Brazilian national team caretaker Ferlando Diniz revealed that he would not be calling up Lucas Pacqueda to play in future international matches to allow him to focus on resolving the issue.
However, the British newspaper "The Sun" pointed out that Westham leader David Moyes will still include Lucas Berkeda in the list of the army to play in the English Premier League home against Chelsea on Sunday (20) night, Moyes admitted that Manchester City has been referred to Lucas Berkeda, but refused to make other comments.
Lucas Pakida joined Westham in the summer of last year for a transfer fee of £50 million (about HK$500 million) from Lyon, becoming the most expensive acquisition in the history of the Hammers, he scored five goals in 41 games for Westham last season, and is a contributor to the team's UEFA Champions League win, and he was in the lineup for the last Premier League match against Gonemouth.
City boss Diego Guardiola originally hoped to sign Lucas Pacqueda to replace Chieftain Dibny, who is suffering from a serious injury, but his deployment has been disrupted.
The Premier League has a history of players violating gambling regulations, the most recent of which was Brentford striker Tony Ai, who was charged with multiple breaches of the FA's gambling regulations between 2017 and 2021, and was heavily fined in May this year with an eight-month suspension and a fine of 50,000 pounds (about HK$500,000)," he said.
