Lucas Paquetá ‘Sought Yellow Card as Birthday Present for Brother,’ Commission Hears

Posted on: February 14, 2025, 01:30h. 

Last updated on: February 14, 2025, 01:31h.

Philip Conneller @casinoorgphilc Read More
Expertise: Gaming Business, Regulation, Tribal Gaming.
  • West Ham’s Lucas Paquetá is under investigation for receiving yellow cards to manipulate betting markets, including one on his brother’s birthday.
  • Brazilian businessman linked to match-fixing testified he had insider knowledge of Paquetá’s bookings.
  • Paquetá’s uncle allegedly moved large sums of money, possibly tied to suspicious bets.

West Ham star Lucas Paquetá may have picked up an intentional yellow card as a birthday gift for his brother, according to a testimony given to a Brazilian Senate Commission examining match fixing.

Lucas Paquetá, Bruno Tolentino, Mattheus Paquetá, Bruno López de Moura, Marlon Bruno Nascimento da Silva.
Lucas Paquetá, above, playing for Brazil against Spain in March 2024. The player strongly denies wrongdoing, although the Brazilian Senate has recommended his uncle, Bruno Tolentino, face match-fixing charges. (Image: Shutterstock)

The midfielder was charged by England’s Football Association (FA) last May with deliberately seeking to “receive a card from the referee for the improper purpose of affecting the betting market.” The charges, which Paquetá strongly denies, are unprecedented in English soccer and could prove career-ending for the player if he is found guilty.

The FA probe was triggered last summer by reports of suspicious betting patterns around a yellow card Paquetá received in West Ham’s draw at Bournemouth on August 12, 2023.

That date also happened to be the 28th birthday of Paquetá’s brother, Mattheus Paquetá, a former professional soccer player who spent most of his career in the Brazilian lower leagues.

De Moura Testimony

The FA investigation later expanded to include yellow cards Paquetá received in three more games – against Leicester City on Nov. 12, 2022, Aston Villa on March 12, 2023, and Leeds United on May 21, 2023.

However, the allegation about Paquetá’s brother came from evidence given by businessman Bruno López de Moura to the Brazilian Senate Commission.

De Moura has been named by the public prosecutor in the state of Goias as the leader of a betting ring that fixed matches in Serie A and B of the Brasileirão in 2022, as well as state matches in 2023, in order to manipulate the betting markets.

De Moura denies having had a hand in arranging the Paquetá yellow cards but admitted he did have insider knowledge that they would happen and placed bets accordingly. He told the Senate inquiry he received this information from a friend of Mattheus Paquetá’s, Marlon Bruno Nascimento da Silva.

Paquetá Uncle Faces Charges

The Senate inquiry has recommended criminal charges against Paquetá’s uncle, Bruno Tolentino, who declined to testify before the commission.

In February 2023, Tolentino allegedly transferred the equivalent of just over US$5k to another Brazilian player, Luiz Henrique, shortly after the winger picked up two yellow cards while playing in Spain for Real Betis.

Sportsbooks also reported a flurry of suspiciously large bets on Henrique getting booked in these games, although Henrique is not under investigation and denies wrongdoing.

Tolentino allegedly transferred around $145K to himself from various payment platforms, financial activities that were inconsistent with his declared assets to Brazil’s federal tax office.

He also made a payment of around US$16.7K to da Silva.

Paquetá has been asked to testify but has requested that he do so at a later date. There are no recommendations from the Senate to charge the player and the inquiry remains open.

The FA has provided no timeline for a verdict in its case against Paquetá.