Soccer-Three Australian A-League players arrested for alleged illegal betting

The players are expected to be charged with engaging in conduct that corrupts a betting outcome of an event, police said. Macarthur FC is the only A-League men's club in southwestern Sydney and the team played matches on April 20 and May 4.

Three Australian A-League male soccer players linked to a south-western Sydney club were arrested for alleged betting corruption for yellow card manipulation in exchange for money, police said on Friday. Investigations found a senior player was allegedly taking instructions from a man, believed to be offshore in South America, to organise for yellow cards to occur during two games played last year, New South Wales police said in a statement.

Failed attempts were allegedly made to control the number of yellow cards during games on April 20 and May 4, police said. The players are expected to be charged with engaging in conduct that corrupts a betting outcome of an event, police said.

Macarthur FC is the only A-League men's club in southwestern Sydney and the team played matches on April 20 and May 4. Macarthur FC did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

Police said a team was set up in December 2023, assisted by the United Kingdom Gambling Commission, to investigate the alleged betting. Football Australia said it had been made aware of the arrests, and that it was fully cooperating with authorities in the matter. No further comments will be made at this stage as the investigation is ongoing, it said.