Lucas Paqueta’s lawyer: No decision yet on whether to sue FA
Lucas Paqueta’s lawyer says they have made no decision yet on whether to seek damages from the FA after the West Ham star was cleared of spot-fixing following a two-year investigation.
Paqueta was found not guilty by an independent disciplinary commission of deliberately getting yellow cards in order to manipulate betting markets, in a decision announced yesterday.
The Brazil international was, however, found guilty of failing to fully cooperate with the investigation and is still facing punishment on those counts.
Paqueta, 27, looked set to join Manchester City in an £85m transfer before the probe was made public. The FA was seeking a life ban from football if he was found guilty.
His lawyer, Alastair Campbell of law firm Level, told City PM they would wait to read the commission’s written reasoning before making any decision on whether to pursue a claim for damages.
“First of all, there is the matter of the two charges which were proved. We obviously need to see the written reasons on those, and we take those very seriously,” he said.
“It is, I think, right to say they are significantly less serious than the match-fixing charges, but we need to pay them due respect, so we’re not going to run before we can walk.
“The written reasons are, I understand, going to be very substantial, so we will go through that very carefully and advise him of his options. I can’t really be drawn on whether or not I see that [suing the FA] as a likely outcome without seeing the full picture.”
Other sports lawyers estimate that Paqueta and West Ham’s legal bills are likely in excess of £1m, which could make them inclined to sue to recoup funds.
“There are also commercial losses to both United and Paqueta that must be considered,” said Yasin Patel, a sports barrister at Church Court Chambers.
“While these investigations and proceedings have been hanging over the player, he will have lost out on commercial deals as well as the image damage.
“Should Paqueta have an image rights company, they may also be keen to seek compensation in relation to the damage caused to their asset.”
Did the FA act correctly in bringing charges?
Paqueta’s form and value suffered while a cloud of suspicion lingered over him but his lawyer believes he deserves huge credit for playing on in trying personal circumstances.
“Lucas has played with this over his head for two years, and his mental strength to do that, knowing that he was not guilty, is something I’ll never be able to get my head around,” said Campbell, a partner at Level.
Paqueta’s lawyer said that the evidence against his client was entirely circumstantial but played down the suggestion that the FA may have acted irresponsibly by bringing the charges.
“The FA legal team are good people with a very difficult job, and I don’t envy regulators in general, and regulators like the FA, who are particularly in the public eye,” Campbell added.
“It’s been so long because it is a complicated case and there is an enormous amount of evidence on both sides. I don’t want to say whether they’ve acted responsibly or not. I’ve got enormous respect for them and what they do — some cases you lose.”