Club "shocked"

Betting fraud! Three professional footballers arrested

Three Australian footballers have been arrested for betting fraud. (symbolic image)(Bild: dpa/Martin Gerten)

Three professional soccer players were arrested in Australia on Friday on suspicion of match-fixing. According to police reports, they are alleged to have manipulated matches on the instructions of an intermediary from South America by deliberately receiving yellow cards. You can bet on the number of yellow cards in a match. According to police reports, hundreds of thousands of dollars were paid out in winnings.

According to Australian media reports, the players involved are the Mexican Ulises Davila (33), captain of A-League club Macarthur FC, and his team-mates Kearyn Baccus (32) and Clayton Lewis (27). According to the report, Davila paid them 10,000 Australian dollars (6,600 euros) to deliberately collect yellow cards. A fourth person is still to be questioned and is under suspicion.

Investigation over six months
According to the investigators, the yellow cards were allegedly manipulated during the matches on November 24, 2023 and December 9, 2023. Unsuccessful attempts were made to carry out similar manipulations at the matches on April 20 and May 4. The police had previously been investigating conspicuous betting patterns for six months, as Deputy Chief Constable Michael Fitzgerald announced at a press conference on Friday.

Club "shocked"
The club from Sydney's south-west said it was "shocked" by the allegations. General manager Sam Krslovic said the club had been taken by surprise by the arrests. "The integrity of our game is a cornerstone and we will work closely with all relevant authorities on this matter," Krslovic said. The governing body Football Australia also announced that it would cooperate.