West Ham fear Lucas Paqueta is set up to lose his seismic fight with the Football Association which could see the Brazilian star banned for life if he is found to have broken betting rules.
Senior Hammers sources have told Mail Sport they are not confident of a victory as they believe the odds are stacked against the Premier League club and their player.
That is owing to the standard of proof being based on a ‘balance of probabilities’ – as in civil law cases – as opposed to the more rigorous ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’ threshold applied in criminal proceedings.