- Three players were arrested on Friday
- They have been accused of corruption and gambling-related crimes.
- Police now investigating wider international network
There are fears that A-League match-fixing allegations which led to three A-Leagues being charged with gambling-related offenses this week could lead to more arrests, with police now investigating a global network of betting agencies.
Two weeks after Macarthur FC were eliminated from the A-League final, police charged club captain Ulises Davila and teammates Kearyn Baccus and Clayton Lewis with corrupting the outcome of a bet.
The three Macarthur players were arrested in pre-dawn raids on Friday and charged with corruption and gambling offences.
A fourth Macarthur FC player is also expected to be charged upon his return from interstate, marking the biggest allegation of sporting corruption in Australian football since the 2010 Ryan Tandy affair.
Macarthur Bulls captain Ulises Dávila was one of three men arrested and charged by police.
A South American criminal syndicate allegedly paid players to generate yellow cards in A-League matches
Police are looking for a fourth player whom they want to question over alleged match-fixing
The alleged scandal began with 21 identical quick bets placed in one minute thousands of miles away.
In December 2023, a South American criminal syndicate allegedly placed bets on a discreet game involving Macarthur FC, run by a man nicknamed El Controller.
Bettors allegedly paid team captain Ulises Dávila $10,000 to ensure that Macarthur received more than 3.5 yellow cards in the game.
The UK Gambling Commission’s network allegedly detected suspicious bets, leading police to discover other rigged games and failed attempts.
Football Australia has issued provisional suspension notices to the three accused players, sidelining them from all football activities until the criminal proceedings are concluded.
“This is very worrying news for the Australian Football community and beyond. The conduct that has been alleged has no place in our game,” Football Australia chief executive James Johnson said.
“We will do everything we can to get to the bottom of the matter and will leave no stone unturned.”
Another Macarthur player is expected to be charged and police are ready to extradite him from interstate if necessary.
Former New Zealand international Clayton Lewis was one of the Bulls players arrested
Kearyn Baccus, brother of Socceroo Keanu, was the third man arrested by NSW Police.
Davila, Baccus and Lewis were granted bail and are due to appear in local courts later this month and in June.
Police are also investigating other Macarthur Bulls players, their previous games and overall betting patterns.
The charges center on bets placed on a South American betting platform, with police revealing significant alleged winnings.
The commander of the organized crime squad, Superintendent Peter Faux, said news corporation that could lead to more arrests.
“That was just the supposed payment for a game,” he said.
There are allegedly hundreds of thousands of profits.
“But there are many more markets and betting platforms (to analyze),” Superintendent Faux said.
The NSW Crime Commission is examining the players’ finances to determine whether their assets are suspected proceeds of crime.
“I think it’s important to understand that this is not a matter of luck or whether NSW Police stumbled upon it,” Superintendent Faux said.
“We have a team that deals specifically with these things, a team of specialized detectives and analysts.”
The comptroller is now the main target of the police, who are confident that they can press charges against him.