Luiz Henrique plays for Botafogo in Brazil (Lucas Figueiredo/Getty Images)
This wait-and-see approach has the benefit of not requiring any legwork. Perhaps the English FA’s final verdict will spur its Spanish counterpart into life. But for now, it looks a lot like sheer inaction.
The CBF could reasonably argue that its responsibilities are different. None of the alleged breaches took place in matches under its jurisdiction, after all. If the FA finds Paqueta guilty, it is likely that any punishment would be taken up by FIFA and applied globally.
But these are Brazilian players and this was Brazilian money. While Paqueta’s club, West Ham United, might be entering into a legal minefield if they suspended him preemptively, a national team is not bound by the same employment rights. It is representative football.
Unlike in Spain, this has been a big story in Brazil. Journalists are following it with interest, as are politicians: both Paqueta and Luiz Henrique were invited to speak at a parliamentary committee last year as part of a wider inquiry into sports betting and possible manipulation. Neither appeared; the expectation is that Paqueta will be called again.
Watch the Brazilian national team, however, and you’d be forgiven for thinking there was no case to answer. Paqueta will almost certainly be in the starting XI when the Selecao play Chile in Santiago this week. Within the Brazil setup, the only real debate over his presence in the side centres on his shaky recent form. A similar logic applies to Luiz Henrique.
Until it is resolved, this case is one giant grey area. No one should be prosecuted before the fact. The existence of so much doubt, though, should provoke action rather than its opposite. Spain should be looking at the allegations regarding Luiz Henrique much more closely. Brazil, meanwhile, should err on the side of caution and leave both players out until the matter is properly resolved.
“Paqueta being in the national team is a grave error,” the president of the parliamentary betting inquiry, Senator Jorge Kajuru, said in June. It is hard to argue with that assessment.
(Top photos: Getty Images)
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Publish date : 2024-10-07 17:01:00
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