West Ham United midfielder Lucas Paquetá’s wife has said their family have been “living a nightmare for two years” amid an investigation over match fixing.
The Brazil international is awaiting the outcome of an English Football Association hearing over spot-fixing charges, for deliberately receiving four yellow cards in Premier League matches for betting purposes.
If found guilty, he could face a lifetime ban. He has denied any wrongdoing.
Paquetá’s wife, Maria Eduarda Fournier, wrote in an Instagram post: “My husband has a stance and strength that I admire and that impresses me! We’ve been living this nightmare for two years and he’s always been strong…
“He always had it in his head that he would only defend himself at the right time and in the right place… Anyway, God knows all things, and only he knows why we are going through this! And it is only because of him that we are well and living happily as a family. I just want people to respect that.
“People are mean and unfair without knowing anything.”
Paquetá burst into tears after being shown a yellow card for a foul on Mikey Moore during Sunday’s 1-1 league draw with Tottenham.
He was consoled by teammates and replaced seven minutes later by West Ham manager Graham Potter.
Potter told a news conference after the game that he believes Paquetá’s tears were down to frustration.
“I think he’s just a player that’s trying his absolute best and wants the situation to be better and probably got a bit frustrated with the action,” he said.
“Then you see a human being, not perfect, but I love Lucas. He’s given everything and in difficult circumstances, he’s in as well. He’s given everything and he’s absolutely fine now.”
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