West Ham manager Nuno Espirito Santo has expressed his hope that the club can now move past the controversy surrounding Lucas Paqueta’s recent red card, following the midfielder’s apology.
The Brazilian international was dismissed during Sunday’s 2-0 defeat to Liverpool at the London Stadium, receiving two quick yellow cards for dissent from referee Darren England.
The incident comes after Paqueta spent two years under an FA investigation into spot-fixing allegations, accused of deliberately getting booked for betting purposes, before being cleared of all charges in July.
Following his sending off against Liverpool, Paqueta took to social media to criticise the FA, claiming he had not been provided with "psychological support".
Nuno revealed that Paqueta has since addressed both him and the wider squad, seeking to draw a line under the matter as attention shifts to Thursday night’s fixture against Manchester United.
"First of all, he apologised. He is aware of his mistake, but we as a club, first and foremost, we protect our own and that was how we sorted things among ourselves," Nuno stated during a press conference on Tuesday afternoon.
The manager emphasised the human element of the situation. "It is clear that everybody understood that in life, everybody is aware that mistakes can happen inside of the football pitch, sometimes the emotions, you cannot control it," he added.
"But at the same time, everybody deserves a chance and this is the case, we move forward. He is going to be out of the game against Man United, but he is going to be involved in the next one."
Nuno acknowledged Paqueta’s distress. "He is not okay, he is suffering. He is disappointed, is sad, but he realised the mistake that he made and he is willing to move forward.
“This is what sometimes people are not aware of, all the problems that the football players endure, but Lucas, I think, is going to overcome this situation."
