Premier League star at risk of being BANNED FOR LIFE following investigation

A Premier League star could be at risk of receiving a lifetime ban after more details of his case emerged.

West Ham midfielder Lucas Paqueta has been the subject of a lengthy investigation from the FA after being charged with alleged breaches of rules E5 and F3.

The investigation revolves around suspicious betting activity relating to four yellow cards he received in the Premier League against Bournemouth, Aston Villa, Leeds and Leicester City.

Paqueta is accused of being booked deliberately and it was later uncovered that a 'larger than usual number of bets' were placed in his native Brazil.

Around 60 bets were placed on yellow cards, ranging from £7 to £400 and with total winnings of £100,000.

The former Lyon and AC Milan has protested his innocence and co-operated by handed over his mobile phone to the FA.

England's governing body had his device for around eight weeks and looked into his call and message history, as well as his bank records.

Upon it being returned, Paqueta is believed to have got a replacement phone.

However, The Sun say he threw out the old mobile and that is landing him in more trouble.

Image: Getty

The FA requested further access to Paqueta's phone to complete necessary checks but he could not locate the handset - leading to two aggravated breaches of FA Rule F3 after being accused of obstructing and not co-operating in the initial investigation.

Paqueta has still been playing for West Ham and scored in the 4-1 win over Ipswich Town at the weekend.

His hearing is slated to take place in March and likely will not be concluded until the summer.

Paqueta is therefore expected to be available for the remainder of the 2024/25 campaign.

Image: Getty

It's claimed that the FA deem the alleged offences to be more serious than previous incidents and are pushing for a lifetime ban.

West Ham declined to comment when approached by SPORTbible.