In a season dominated by the Premier League’s legal battles, the Football Association is about to get in on the act. Today it will begin prosecuting England’s most high‑profile corruption case since Bruce Grobbelaar was acquitted of conspiring to fix five Premier League games in two trials at Winchester crown court 27 years ago.
Lucas Paquetá is not facing criminal proceedings, but in professional terms the stakes are almost as high. The FA charge sheet sent to West Ham on 23 May last year, in which Paquetá was charged with four counts of spot‑fixing and two of obstructing an FA investigation, is understood to have included the recommendation of a life ban if he is found guilty by the independent panel.
