Former West Ham boss David Moyes agrees to act as a witness in Lucas Paqueta’s defence – with the Brazilian star facing a lifetime ban for breaching betting rules

Lucas Paqueta is ready to front up and fight for his career at his FA spot-fixing trial – and it can be revealed his former West Ham manager David Moyes has agreed to act as a witness in a significant section of the 27-year-old Brazilian’s defence.

Paqueta’s hearing started on Monday and he is expected to give evidence in person after not flying away on international duty with Brazil for their World Cup qualifiers with Colombia and Argentina amid the threat of a life ban if found guilty.

Multiple sources have told Mail Sport that Moyes, now managing Everton, is also corroborating a big part of Paqueta’s claim which the Samba star hopes will help prove he is innocent of receiving yellow cards on purpose to influence betting outcomes.

It is understood to specifically relate to the caution he was shown in a 1-1 draw at Bournemouth in August 2023. Manchester City were courting Paqueta at the time in a move potentially worth £80million and it is claimed the West Ham playmaker asked to skip the trip to the Vitality Stadium after his head had been turned by the champions’ interest.

Moyes spoke with Paqueta at their Rush Green training base in the build-up to that game, explaining he understood how he was feeling but underlining that he intended on using him while he remained his player. The 61-year-old Scot also promised he would keep Paqueta personally updated on the ongoing club-to-club negotiations.

Paqueta agreed to start, but it is said he believed he would be substituted once West Ham were in a comfortable winning position, so as to not jeopardise his City transfer. They led 1-0 through Jarrod Bowen after 51 minutes, though he remained on the pitch as Bournemouth equalised via Dominic Solanke in the 82nd minute. It was deep into stoppage time that Paqueta was shown his yellow for handball, representing his fourth foul of the match.

Individuals close to the case say it is this account which Moyes has agreed to verify on his former player’s behalf as a panel evaluate the evidence which will determine Paqueta’s fate – as the Brazil international with 55 caps hopes to prove he could not have been involved in a card conspiracy if he did not even want to be on the pitch. ‘He will be a strong witness,’ commented one source hoping for a positive outcome for Paqueta on Wednesday.

That Bournemouth trip represented West Ham’s first competitive fixture since beating Fiorentina in the Conference League final in Prague, where Paqueta set up Bowen’s winner to ensure fortune was hiding no more as they ended a 43-year wait for a major trophy.

As well as having Moyes in his corner for this seismic showdown with the FA, Paqueta is being represented by the highly-respected sports lawyer Nick De Marco KC, who previously helped Ivan Toney when the former Brentford striker was charged with betting breaches.

It was on August 18, 2023 when Mail Sport broke the news that Paqueta was being investigated by the FA, less than two weeks after their visit to the Vitality. The governing body had been alerted by suspicious betting patterns surrounding bookings shown to the player.

It was then on May 23, 2024 when the FA formally charged him with four breaches, informing Paqueta in a letter that they related to yellows he had received in West Ham’s clashes with Leicester, Aston Villa, Leeds and Bournemouth.

They said in a statement at the time: ‘It’s alleged that he directly sought to influence the progress, conduct, or any other aspect of, or occurrence in these matches by intentionally seeking to receive a card from the referee for the improper purpose of affecting the betting market in order for one or more persons to profit from betting.’

The FA also further charged him with two counts of obstructing their investigation. Paqueta has maintained from the very beginning that he is innocent and sources close to the player say he has cooperated fully during what has been a troubling time for him and his family.

West Ham have backed Paqueta throughout, but club insiders have continued to complain that the standard of proof in such FA cases is based on a ‘balance of probabilities’. They fear it stacks the odds against them and their player as it means he could potentially lose his career to a ‘51 per cent’ guilty verdict, described as ‘savage’ by one senior source.

This has proven a costly case for both Paqueta and West Ham. Even if his 2023 transfer to City had never fallen through when the FA’s investigation was revealed, his contract contained an £85m release clause for the following summer of 2024. 

As one of the Premier League’s most consistent creators, the suspicion is that would have been triggered by one of Europe’s giants, were it not for the charges hanging over him which essentially rendered him unsellable.

Paqueta joined West Ham from Lyon for £51m in 2022 and is contracted until 2027. Their next fixture under manager Graham Potter is a trip to Wolves on April 1 and Paqueta will be allowed to continue to play if his hearing is still ongoing.

Mail Sport approached Paqueta’s camp, the FA, West Ham, Moyes and Everton prior to publication.