Key points:
- Paqueta to testify before Sports Betting CPI
- Hearing can take place virtually rather than in-person
- This follows the West Ham footballer being charged by the English FA in May
Sports Betting CPI Chairman, Senator Jorge Kajuru, has confirmed the committee has summoned West Ham United midfielder Lucas Paqueta to testify in a hearing related to match-fixing.
This comes after the Senator last week announced Paqueta had been officially summoned to testify at the end of October.
At the time, Kajuru said: "I think it's absurd, I think it's abominable that the player Paqueta is still on the Brazilian national team, being called up, playing (he'll play tomorrow, he'll play next week), when his name is being fully investigated.
“The evidence is strong. We even heard from William [Rogatto] himself yesterday, who made it clear that Paqueta really did involve his family, isn't that right? Now there's more information from another player linked to him.”
But now the Senator has confirmed the Brazilian international has been summoned to testify in response to the match-fixing allegations he faces. Since he does not live in Brazil, this can take place via video conference.
Paqueta was charged by the English Football Association (FA) back in May with four breaches of the governing bodies’ betting rules.
It was alleged that the West Ham midfielder had intentionally tried to get himself booked by the referee in four separate Premier League fixtures between November 2022 and August 2023, to affect the betting market for “one or more persons to profit from betting.”
