Club captain accused in Australian football match-fixing case released from A-League contract

SYDNEY (AP) — Australian A-League soccer club Macarthur has terminated the contract of captain Ulises Davila, the same day the Mexican midfielder was due to appear in court on allegations that he was involved in masterminding a match-fixing scheme.

Davila signed a two-year contract extension with the club earlier this year. Davila, 33, was arrested in May for his alleged involvement in a plot that saw Macarthur players deliberately receive yellow cards.

The team issued a two-line statement on Monday saying Davila’s contract was terminated by “mutual” agreement.

Davila appeared in court for the first time on Monday. Police allege he was the link between the Macarthur players and a South American group that orchestrated the match-fixing scheme.

Davila has not admitted to the crime. Two other Macarthur players have been charged by police in connection with the allegations. All three players are out on bail.

New Zealand international Clayton Lewis, who is still under contract with the club in southwest Sydney, is due to appear in court on Thursday. Midfielder Kearyn Baccus, who was previously released from the club, appeared in court in May.

Police say the betting scheme paid out hundreds of thousands of dollars to players. Documents tendered to the Downing Centre Local Court in Sydney allege that Davila, in his role as captain, persuaded other Macarthur players to take part in the scheme.

Investigators say yellow cards, which are typically issued by referees to warn against foul play, were tampered with during A-League matches on November 24 and December 9. Macarthur played out a 1-1 draw with Melbourne Victory in the first of those matches before beating Sydney FC 2-0 in the second.

All three players accused received a yellow card in the December 9 match. Police also allege that there were unsuccessful attempts to do the same at matches on April 20 and May 4 this year.

Football Australia has issued provisional suspensions to the three players in accordance with its code of conduct.