West Ham midfielder Lucas Paquetá has taken aim at football authorities in a bizarre online outburst following his sending-off in the 2-0 defeat to Liverpool. The Brazil international, who had his spot-fixing allegations cleared by the FA in July, expressed outrage over what he described as two years of "psychological support" or lack thereof from the governing body.
Paquetá's frustration boiled over after being shown two yellow cards for dissent, which left him visibly agitated and ultimately led to his ejection from the game. Despite players from both teams attempting to calm him down, Paquetá returned to berate the referee before receiving a second yellow card, which sealed his fate.
In an Instagram post, Paquetá initially issued an apology to fans and teammates for his behavior, stating that he understands why he may be perceived as "the villain" but pleading with them to understand that it's not justified. However, after being challenged by the Sky Sports Premier League account on Twitter, Paquetá fired back, expressing frustration at the FA's handling of his case.
The Brazilian midfielder claimed that he had been left without psychological support for two years, which was likely exacerbated by the FA investigation into spot-fixing allegations. He suggested that his behavior may be a result of all the stress and pressure he'd endured as a result, stating it's "ridiculous" to have his life and career affected in such a way.
West Ham manager Nuno Espírito Santo distanced himself from Paquetá's comments after the match, but acknowledged the difficulty of playing with one player less against Liverpool. However, Paquetá remains adamant that he needs to understand the situation better before commenting further on it.
Paquetá's frustration boiled over after being shown two yellow cards for dissent, which left him visibly agitated and ultimately led to his ejection from the game. Despite players from both teams attempting to calm him down, Paquetá returned to berate the referee before receiving a second yellow card, which sealed his fate.
In an Instagram post, Paquetá initially issued an apology to fans and teammates for his behavior, stating that he understands why he may be perceived as "the villain" but pleading with them to understand that it's not justified. However, after being challenged by the Sky Sports Premier League account on Twitter, Paquetá fired back, expressing frustration at the FA's handling of his case.
The Brazilian midfielder claimed that he had been left without psychological support for two years, which was likely exacerbated by the FA investigation into spot-fixing allegations. He suggested that his behavior may be a result of all the stress and pressure he'd endured as a result, stating it's "ridiculous" to have his life and career affected in such a way.
West Ham manager Nuno Espírito Santo distanced himself from Paquetá's comments after the match, but acknowledged the difficulty of playing with one player less against Liverpool. However, Paquetá remains adamant that he needs to understand the situation better before commenting further on it.
he's been through some stuff and it's not cool that he's being left to deal with all that stress on his own. two years of no support? that's wild 
it's not surprising he'd lose his cool, especially when you consider how much pressure he's under as a pro athlete. maybe the fa should be helping him more or at least having an open convo about what he's going through 
he's going through a lot right now and it's not easy to deal with all that stress & pressure... i mean two years of no psychological support? that's crazy 
imagine being in his shoes, trying to play football while dealing with all that emotional baggage... west ham manager nuno espírito santo was right to distance himself from paquetá's comments tho 
it's one thing to talk about it online but another to do it right after the match when emotions are running high... anyway, i hope paquetá gets some help and support soon, he seems like a really talented player who deserves better 
like he's pouring his heart out & all those months of being cleared by the FA still got him shook 
two yrs of no support from them? how did we not know about this? 
i get that football is hard, but mental health matters too fam 
we gotta be better at supporting our players through thick & thin. & honestly, it's kinda messed up that he's being judged for it again 
like he thought he was cleared already 
i mean i get why he's frustrated but two years of no psychological support from the fa? that's wild 
two yellow cards is a lot, and the fa clearing him of spot-fixing allegations doesn't necessarily mean everything's alright 
what if he's not dealing well with the pressure & stress? maybe he needs some actual help or support, not just venting about it online 
he says he's been left without psychological support for two years... that's like, emotional labor, fam. all this pressure of being a spot-fixing suspect, and then you get two yellow cards for just trying to talk to the ref? 
it's like, who's got time to deal with all that?
he lashes out on Instagram... but then gets called out by Sky Sports. it's like this never-ending cycle of feeling unheard and misunderstood. i mean, can't we just take a step back and try to understand each other's perspectives instead of throwing shade? 
he's got a point tho, 2 years of being in limbo with those spot-fixing allegations and not getting any real support from the fa? that's some heavy stuff 
i feel for the guy, he's been through so much. but at the same time, his behavior on the pitch was super unacceptable 
he can't just lash out at the ref like that. still gotta respect him for speaking up tho 
It's not like they're a bunch of soulless robots trying to ruin his life, right? 
. Ugh, the drama is real 
two years of no psychological support? that's wild 
i feel bad for the guy, he just needs someone to talk to or some help to deal with all the stress 
️
. The fact that he's now claiming he was left high and dry by the FA? That's not exactly a great look 
. Still, I kinda feel for the guy - stress and pressure can do weird things to you 
but come on luca u gotta chill out a bit lol 
. Two years of no psychological support from the FA? That sounds like a pretty big deal to me 