Three A-League footballers arrested over alleged betting corruption in Australia
The three stars in question were all charged in the early hours of Friday, 17 May, and will appear in court in the coming weeks over suspected efforts to manipulate the number of yellow cards shown in various games
Three top-flight Australian football players have been arrested and charged over an alleged betting scam.
Following an investigation by the New South Wales Organised Crime Squad, the trio of A-League stars are accused of deliberately picking up yellow cards.
‘Strike Force Beaconview’ was formed by the State Crime Command’s Organised Crime Squad Gaming Unit in December 2023 with the assistance of the UK Gambling Commission to look into yellow card manipulation by three different players, who remain unnamed, from a south-western Sydney football club.
Within the investigation, it was revealed that one senior player was alleged to have taken instructions from an individual, believed to be based in South America, to organise yellow cards in certain periods of games in exchange for profit.
The senior player, known to be aged 33, has been charged with two counts of engaging in conduct that corrupts a betting outcome of an event, two counts of facilitating conduct that corrupts a betting outcome of an event and participating in a criminal group.
According to multiple reports, the 33-year-old is accused of paying two junior players A$10,000 (£5,300) each to intentionally receive yellow cards during matches. He was arrested following a search warrant of a property in South Coogee.
The incidents in question are believed to have occurred during games played on Friday 24 November 2023 and Saturday 9 December 2023, in which the number of yellow cards was “allegedly manipulated”, according to police reports.
This was further followed by two other failed attempts to control the number of yellow cards shown during games which occurred on Saturday 20 April and Saturday 4 May 2024.
The two arrested junior players, aged 32 and 27, were both charged with engaging in conduct that corrupts a betting outcome of an event and participating in a criminal group after warrants searched addresses in West Hoxton and Parramatta, respectively.
Assistant police commissioner Michael Fitzgerald issued an update on the investigation at a press conference today, 17 May, in which he explained: “While A$10,000 may seem like a lot of money to a young sports person, we will advise that is incredibly insignificant when you consider the damage to this young person’s reputation, damage to their club and their code’s reputation.”
The senior player was granted conditional bail and is set to appear at Downing Centre Local Court on Monday 24 June. The junior players have also been bailed, with two separate court appearances scheduled for 27 June for the youngest player and 30 May for the 32-year-old.
The A-League, Australian’s top football division, said in a statement: “The APL is aware of the arrests of three A-League players by NSW Police as a result of international law enforcement coordination focused on betting corruption related to alleged yellow card manipulation in games.
“The work to protect the integrity of our game must be unwavering and we are liaising closely with all relevant agencies on this matter.”
Macarthur FC, the only A-League outfit based in the southwest of Sydney, likewise released a statement echoing the comments of the A-League.