SYDNEY (AP) — Two former A-League soccer players were given the equivalent of a good-behavior bond on Wednesday for taking 10,000 Australian dollars ( $6,600) to deliberately receive yellow cards in a betting scam.
Ex-Macarthur Bulls players Kearyn Baccus and Clayton Lewis will serve a two-year conditional release order, similar to a good behavior bond, after they were sentenced in Sydney.
They will have to repay the money they received for getting the yellow cards in December 2023 as a fine.
The pair were “right at the bottom of the scheme” allegedly orchestrated by their then-captain Ulises Davila, magistrate Michael Blair said at Sydney's Central Local Court.
Baccus, 33, and Lewis, 27, pleaded guilty to engaging in conduct that corrupts the betting outcome of an event, with Blair finding both players were genuinely remorseful for their actions.
The charges related to a Macarthur game against Sydney FC on Dec. 9, 2023 when bets were placed on Macarthur to receive at least four yellow cards.
Davila was booked for delaying play by kicking the ball away, Lewis was cautioned for pushing an opponent in the chest and Baccus earned his yellow for a poor tackle on a Sydney player.
Winning payouts for the bets placed in South America through a gambling site and allegedly orchestrated by Davila totaled more than $100,000.
Blair found there was no evidence Lewis or Baccus had any knowledge of the wagers being placed on their actions or even how much they would be paid.
The magistrate said the two were reckless to deliberately get the yellow cards but he was not satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt they knew they were corrupting a betting outcome.
All three players were suspended by Macarthur FC after their arrests and Davila and Baccus have since been released from their contracts, with Baccus working as a truck driver.
Davila, accused of acting as a conduit between the Macarthur players and a Colombian criminal known as “J Col”, has not yet entered pleas to nine charges against him. He will face court on those charges on Thursday.
Before his arrest, Davila won an award for best player in the Australian league in 2020-21.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
FILE - New Zealand's Clayton Lewis (15) controls the ball during a play-off qualifying match for the 2018 Russian World Cup in Lima, Peru, Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2017. (AP Photo/Karel Navarro, File)
