West Ham’s Paqueta yet to give evidence in spot-fixing trial
This week’s Ahead of the Game focuses on Lucas Paqueta, the English Football League in New York, rugby league controversy, basketball fines and the Grand National.
Lucas Paqueta has yet to give evidence in his spot-fixing trial, a revelation which indicates that the case could have some way to run as the West Ham midfielder fights the Football Association’s demand for a life ban from football.
An independent panel hearing has been adjourned until the end of the season after evidence overran during the initial three-week slot allotted by the FA, which finished last week.
Paqueta is understood to have attended several days of the hearing, but has yet to be cross-examined himself, either by the FA prosecution or his own defence team.
Paqueta, 27, denies any wrongdoing after being charged with four counts of being deliberately booked and two of obstructing the FA’s investigation.
There could be a further delay if Paqueta is found guilty and a separate sanctioning hearing is required to determine the punishment, leading to the prospect of the saga dragging on all summer.
Football stateside frenzy
President Trump’s imposition of tariffs has not thwarted the EFL’s ambitious plans to grow in America, as it demonstrated by holding a first US market workshop in New York last week.
Representatives from around 20 clubs with US ownership groups attended the conference, which was held in conjunction with the EFL’s American commercial and media partner, Relevent Sports.
Future media rights strategies and how to attract more American investment were the main topics up for discussion, although some radical ideas are understood to have been discussed by some club owners in the bar afterwards.
In addition to the EFL, American TV rights partner CBS, which broadcasts 250 of its games live each season, and representatives of the NBA also made presentations. US industry leaders on investment and sponsorship also spoke to the clubs.
League of their own
The recent in-fighting in rugby league appears set to continue amid strong suggestions that Super League could expand from 12 to 14 clubs next season, with London Broncos and Bradford Bulls the most likely beneficiaries.
Since 2023, Super League membership has been based on a grading system operated by the sport’s media and commercial partners, IMG, which assigned a ranking to all 35 professional clubs.
In the 2024 rankings Toulouse and London achieved the next highest scores of the clubs not awarded Super League status, so elevating Bradford to the top flight would be hugely controversial.
To compound matters Bradford Chair Nigel Wood has just been appointed by the clubs to lead a strategic review of Super League following a power struggle at the RFL, which led to the departure of chair Simon Johnson and three senior independent directors.
Any hint of Bradford being favoured following the restructure would lead to a major backlash.
Tip-of(f) the iceberg
Super League Basketball is facing a fine from international federation Fiba despite completing an investigation into its match officials this week.
The SLB review concluded there was no evidence to support allegations of racism and corruption against referee Eduard Udyanskyy, which were made on social media last month by Sheffield Sharks owner Vaughn Millette, who subsequently stood down as interim chair of the league.
Referees remain reluctant to take charge of Sheffield Sharks games due to Millette’s allegations however, and that issue has yet to be resolved, leading the SLB to bring in officials from overseas.
Fiba is investigating the matter as the use of unsanctioned officials is a breach of its regulations, with a fine of SLB the most likely outcome.
Tips for ITV, anyone?
The challenge facing horse racing in remaining relevant to mainstream audiences is demonstrated by disappointing viewing figures for last week’s Grand National on ITV.
Viewers dropped by almost 1m from 12 months ago to a peak of 5.2m as Willie Mullins secured a historic 1-2-3, Nick Rockett leading them home at Aintree.
The heartwarming story of the 33-1 shot being ridden to Grand National victory by Mullins’ own son, amateur jockey Patrick Mullins, who on Tuesday received an eight-day ban for a whipping offence aboard the winner, may have captured the imaginations of racing fans but judging by ITV’s viewing figures the masses may have missed it.
While its coverage is well regarded in the industry, racing’s move to ITV has not paid off for the Grand National meeting. Peak viewing figures for the biggest betting race of the year dropped from 8.2m when ITV first broadcast it in 2017, which was in itself a significant fall from the Channel 4 peak of 9.6m the previous year.
Over the last 20 years the Grand National TV audience has almost halved from 10.3m watching on the BBC in 2004 as viewing habits have altered, although the decline has undoubtedly accelerated since ITV took the reins in 2017.
The death of Celebre D’Allen yesterday four days after falling in the National is unlikely to convert racing agnostics to the sport, but attendances at Aintree were up 8.9 per cent over the three-day festival to 130,000 in contrast with falling crowds at the Cheltenham Festival.