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FA clears Lucas Paquetá of match-manipulation charge but upholds cooperation breach

Enforcement & compliance

The English Football Association’s independent Regulatory Commission cleared Lucas Paquetá of the Rule E5.1 charge, finding insufficient evidence that he tried to manipulate matches for betting purposes. It upheld a separate Rule F3 charge over his responses and documents; the FA said it would announce a fine amount in the coming days, and the decision carries no appeal.

The ruling resolves the match-manipulation allegations while leaving Paquetá liable to a fine for a separate cooperation breach.

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Regulation

Bristol study finds voluntary shirt sponsor ban cuts gambling visibility 10.5%

A University of Bristol study recorded 15,571 gambling messages during the first weekend of the 2026/27 English top-flight season, with the voluntary front-of-shirt sponsorship ban cutting logo visibility by only 10.5%. Sleeve sponsorships rose 362% and pitch-side advertising accounted for 72% of messages during live matches. Sir Iain Duncan Smith, co-chair of the British parliamentary group on gambling reform, said the data showed the voluntary approach had failed.

Research carried out at the University of Bristol measured how often betting branding appeared on the front of shirts in the English top division. Compared with the season before, the voluntary restriction lowered the visibility of gambling logos by 10.5%. Over the opening weekend of the 2026/27 campaign, the researchers logged 15,571 gambling-related messages, amounting to five hours and 16 minutes of combined exposure.

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