- Accused star Kearyn Baccus has appeared in court
- The first of three accused Macarthur FC stars to do so
- The documents allege that two of his teammates were also involved.
Two other A-League players have been named as participants in an alleged betting fix scheme involving their Macarthur FC teammates.
Matthew Millar and Jed Drew are accused of participating in a criminal group that also allegedly involves three accused players, club captain Ulises Davila and teammates Clayton Lewis and Kearyn Baccus.
Their identities were revealed in documents on Thursday as midfielder Baccus, 32, became the first of the trio to face court over the alleged plot to receive yellow cards in exchange for payment.
Macarthur FC star Kearyn Baccus (right) is pictured outside a Sydney court on Thursday after being charged with corrupting the outcome of a bet.
Baccus’ A-League teammate Matthew Millar (pictured) was also accused of being part of the scheme to corrupt betting by purposely receiving yellow cards during matches.
Macarthur’s Jed Drew (pictured) was also named as one of the accused players in a sensational move to court on Thursday.
Neither Millar nor Drew have been charged, however police previously said they were searching for another Macarthur player who was not in New South Wales at the time of the mid-May arrests.
Davila, 33, was arrested and charged after allegedly paying Baccus and Lewis, 27, to deliberately receive yellow cards in a scheme which NSW Police say led to the payment of hundreds of thousands of dollars in profits.
All three are free on bail.
Police said Thursday they were continuing their investigations into the alleged betting-fixing syndicate.
Macarthur FC has been contacted for comment.
Clayton Lewis (left) from Macarthur is yet to appear in court after also being charged with the alleged offences.
Macarthur captain Ulises Dávila (pictured) is accused of being involved in manipulating the awarding of yellow cards in matches on November 24 and December 9 last year.
Baccus appeared at Campbelltown Local Court on Thursday but did not speak during the brief mention and did not indicate how he would plead when questioned outside court.
His lawyer Bryan Wrench told the court the competitive nature of A-League matches should be taken into account when considering the case.
“Those were circumstances in which he was a very competitive and aggressive player,” he said.
Baccus’ case was adjourned until June 24, when he must appear in Downing Center Local Court alongside Dávila.
A ‘responsible gaming’ ad featuring Baccus (pictured) was pulled after he was accused
Investigators allege that yellow cards, which are universally issued by referees as a warning for foul play, were tampered with during matches played on Nov. 24 and Dec. 9.
Macarthur drew 1-1 with Melbourne Victory on 24 November before beating Sydney FC 2-0 on 9 December.
All three accused players were booked in the December 9 match against Sydney.
Investigators also allege that unsuccessful attempts were made to do the same during the April 20 and May 4 games.
Football Australia subsequently sacked the trio and handed them interim no-fault suspension notices under its code of conduct.
