Two former A-League soccer players will learn their criminal fate for deliberately receiving yellow cards in exchange for cash.
Ex-Macarthur Bulls duo Kearyn Baccus and Clayton Lewis have admitted they manipulated yellow cards during matches in 2023 and 2024.
Each has pleaded guilty to engaging in conduct that corrupts the betting outcome of an event and will face Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court for a sentencing hearing on Wednesday.
In agreed facts, Baccus, 33, and Lewis, 27, admit they were paid $10,000 each by former club captain Ulises Davila to deliberately earn the referee-issued disciplinary cautions for foul play at a match in December 2023.
Davila, who is 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.
But Baccus and Lewis say Davila orchestrated 50 suspicious bets in a game against Sydney FC through international wagering platform Betplay.
Davila was booked for delaying play by kicking the ball away and Lewis was cautioned for pushing an opponent in the chest, before Baccus earned his yellow for a poor tackle on a Sydney player.
The agreed facts state the winning bets netted a payout of more than $200,000.
Baccus and ex-New Zealand international Lewis are not accused of placing any bets on the match.
All three players were suspended by Macarthur FC after their arrests, and Davila and Baccus have since been released from their contracts.
Engaging in conduct that corrupts the betting outcome of an event carries a maximum penalty of 10 years' imprisonment.
Davila is due to face court again on September 25.
After Clayton and Lewis entered guilty pleas, Macarthur issued a strongly worded statement that said "serious deficiencies" around integrity processes in Australian football needed to be addressed.
"The systems in place are inadequate to protect clubs from risk and lack the responsiveness required to manage issues of this magnitude," the statement read.
"A comprehensive review and reform of integrity protocols is urgently required to safeguard the future of the game."
