Following his red card against Liverpool, Lucas Paqueta has criticised the FA for a lack of “psychological support” during the betting investigation that found him not guilty.
Paqueta was sent off for West Ham in their defeat against the Reds, receiving two bookings in quick succession for berating referee Darren England.
The 28-year-old was incensed and continued his protestations despite even being pulled away by Liverpool players.
After the match, Paqueta wrote on social media: “It’s ridiculous to have your life and career affected for two years without any psychological support from the federation.
“Perhaps this ridiculous behaviour is just a reflection of everything I’ve had to endure and, it seems, have to continue enduring!
“I’m sorry if I’m not perfect.”
Separately, he said: “I understand that now I have to come across as the villain. It’s hard to live with everything that was caused in my life and in my psyche!
“I’ll keep trying to ensure they don’t affect me even more. This doesn’t justify my expulsion and that’s why I apologise to the fans and my teammates!”
Paqueta, who was returning from a one-match suspension on Sunday, saw red in the 84th minute with his side just one goal down.
Niclas Fullkrug had knocked Dominik Szoboszlai and Liverpool were perhaps softly given a free-kick in the middle third.
Paqueta took issue and was quickly booked for dissent. This annoyed him further and his continued complaints rightly saw him shown another yellow card.
Despite being pulled away by Brazil teammate Alisson, Virgil van Dijk and West Ham‘s players, he continued to clap sarcastically as he went down the tunnel.
Lucas Paqueta cleared of spot-fixing charges
LONDON, ENGLAND - Sunday, November 30, 2025: West Ham United's Lucas Paquetá protesting after he was shown a red card and sent off after receiving two yellow cards for dissent during the FA Premier League match between West Ham United FC and Liverpool FC at the London Stadium. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
On social media, Paqueta said his behaviour was impacted, in part at least, by the stress induced from having his “life and career affected for two years without any psychological support from the federation.”
He is referring here to the investigation that saw him cleared of spot-fixing charges back in July.
The four charges against him related to a Premier League game against Leicester in November 2022 and three other games that season.
The regulatory commission found these four charges to be “not proven,” but he was warned about his conduct.
Paqueta thinks he should have had more support across the period, and “this ridiculous behaviour is just a reflection of everything I’ve had to endure and, it seems, have to continue enduring.”
While the FA aren’t a source for psychological support for professionals, the PFA (Professional Footballers’ Association) do provide help.
After West Ham‘s 2-0 defeat to Liverpool, Paqueta’s manager, Nuno Espirito Santo, said: “I’m not going to comment too much.
“First of all, I’m going to speak to Lucas and try to understand his frustrations and his behaviour.”