The FA has issued a response to a new claim that’s been made about the case against West Ham United star Lucas Paqueta.

As the world knows West Ham playmaker Lucas Paqueta is facing some very serious allegations.

Hammers talisman Paqueta has had an FA and FIFA investigation over alleged involvement in illegal betting hanging over his head since last summer.

There have been conflicting reports regarding the Paqueta investigation over the last few months.

It was claimed by a source close to West Ham’s owners that the club are concerned the FA will officially charge Paqueta over the allegations – which he vehemently denies – so that his fate can then be decided by an independent three-person panel.

But in March, Inside World Football reported that the Paqueta probe is all but over and he will not be charged.

The FA’s £85m West Ham question

In light of that claim, Hammers News reached out to the FA for clarity on the situation.

A spokesman for the Football Association told us the IWF article was “factually incorrect”.

There has been much speculation over Paqueta’s future at West Ham ahead of the summer window.

Reports abound that Man City are waiting to activate his £85m release clause for a second time if and when the case is dropped.

So whether West Ham want to sell Paqueta or not, if the case finds against the Brazilian it could literally cost the Hammers £85m.

Yesterday there was a development when West Ham board insider Sean Whetstone claimed the FA have until next week to charge Paqueta or they must drop the case.

FA’s six-word response to new Paqueta case claim

“The FA have until next week to charge Lucas Paqueta over suspicious betting patterns or drop the case,” Whetstone said.

“It is claimed that the FA have not got one piece of evidence to suggest the West Ham player did anything wrong so it would be disgraceful if he is charged.

“The FA faces a potential legal lawsuit if they fail to meet that deadline or charge the player without any credible evidence.”

We reached out to our contact at English football’s governing body again in light of Whetstone’s claim.

And the FA has issued a six-word response to the new claim about the case against West Ham star Paqueta.

We know that the FA cannot comment in any detail about ongoing individual cases.

Reading between the lines?

But we simply asked the FA whether it was correct that they have until next week to charge Paqueta or drop the case.

“We won’t be commenting on this,” an FA spokesman told Hammers News.

While that doesn’t seem to shed much light on the situation either way, we may be able to read between the lines.

When approached by us about the IWF article back in March, the FA stated the claims made were ‘factually incorrect’.

But this time around they have neither confirmed nor denied the latest claim.

Some might feel that suggests an element of truth to Whetstone’s update. If it was incorrect then surely the FA would say so, as they have done previously.

At least we won’t have long to wait until we find out. Just over seven days in fact.

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