SYDNEY — Australian professional soccer was rocked Friday by accusations that the captain of A-League club Macarthur FC paid two younger teammates up to 10,000 Australian dollars ($6,600) to deliberately receive yellow cards in a scheme set up by a South American gambling connection.
The player were identified Macarthur team leader Ulises Davila and fellow players Kearyn Baccus and Clayton Lewis as the players arrested over their alleged involvement in the match-fixing scheme, which police say led to hundreds of thousands of dollars being paid out in winnings.
All three players were formally charged and granted bail on Friday afternoon, with Davila scheduled to appear in court on June 24.
Authorities still want to interview a fourth player allegedly involved in the scheme, threatening to extradite him if he does not return to New South Wales state to face questioning.
Investigators allege yellow cards were manipulated during games played on Nov. 24 and Dec. 9. They also allege unsuccessful attempts were made to do similar during matches on April 20 and May 4.
Macarthur played out a 1-1 draw with Melbourne Victory on Nov. 24 before beating Sydney FC 2-0 on Dec. 9. All three players were given yellow cards in the Dec. 9 game against Sydney.
The team beat Sydney 1-0 on April 20 before being beaten 4-0 by Sydney FC in a playoff elimination game on May 4. Macarthur finished in fifth place during the regular season.
Police Assistant Commissioner Michael Fitzgerald said the players had ''betrayed the trust of their supporters and the code."
