West Ham United midfielder Lucas Paqueta was branded “completely irresponsible” after getting sent off for an angry altercation with referee Darren England.
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The Hammers provided some light relief to a troubled Liverpool side at the London Stadium on Sunday, with goals from Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo providing the Reds their first win since the start of November.
But Paqueta made things that little bit harder for his side with a needless tirade against the referee, which saw him dismissed in the 84th minute.
Lucas Paqueta branded irresponsible for red card incident
It was sparked when Dominik Szoboszlai went down relatively easily under challenge from Niclas Fullkrug.
Paqueta was close to the incident, but not directly involved in the challenge, yet managed to talk his way into the book with his protests.
"It's ridiculous behaviour" ❌Lucas Paquetá is SENT OFF for talking himself into a second booking. pic.twitter.com/Hgjy7kBck3November 30, 2025
Rather than take England’s warning, Paqueta cranked up his anger even further, getting up close to the referee and angrily protesting.
The 28-year-old was dragged away, at one point even opposition goalkeeper Alisson trying to pull his Brazil teammate away from trouble, but he wouldn’t listen, and went back in for more.
Due to the aggressive nature of his outburst, he gave England little choice but to brandish a second yellow card, to which Paqueta sarcastically clapped his way off the pitch, remonstrating further with officials.
“It’s completely irresponsible,” Sky Sports commentator Don Goodman said. “He’s lost his head. He’s not helped the team in any respects.”
A second yellow card comes with a one-match suspension, which will see the Brazilian miss the Hammers’ trip to Old Trafford on Thursday.
Nuno Espirito Santo has every right to be annoyed at Paqueta, in FourFourTwo’s opinion.
There was no need for the player to get sent off, in a situation that he wasn’t even involved in to begin with, and they’ll now face the Red Devils without one of their star players.
Some attention may also be due to captain Jarrod Bowen and his fellow teammates, who could have done more to drag Paqueta away from the situation, but the blame lies squarely at the Brazilian’s door.
Paqueta is valued at €35m, according to Transfermarkt. West Ham next face Manchester United, when Premier League action returns next week.
