Australian professional football was rocked on Friday by accusations that the captain of A-League club Macarthur FC paid two younger teammates up to AU$10,000 (HK$52,000) to deliberately receive yellow cards in a scheme set up by a South American gambling connection.

The players identified were Macarthur team leader Ulises Davila and teammates Kearyn Baccus and Clayton Lewis, who were arrested over their alleged involvement in the match-fixing scheme, which police said led to hundreds of thousands of dollars being paid out in winnings.

All three players were formally charged and granted bail on Friday, with Davila scheduled to appear in court on June 24.

Authorities still wanted to interview a fourth player allegedly involved in the scheme, threatening to extradite him if he did not return to New South Wales state to face questioning.

Investigators alleged yellow cards were manipulated during games played on November 24 and December 9. They also alleged 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 November 24 before beating Sydney FC 2-0 on December 9. All three players were given yellow cards in the December 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”.

“Yellow cards and the subsequent penalties that arise out of those yellow cards could change the result of that game,” he said a media conference on Friday. “AU$10,000 may seem a lot of money to a young sports person, [but] that is incredibly insignificant when you consider the damage that being charged with this offence and convicted results in.”

No further information was given about the South American gambling connection.

The southwest Sydney club said it was “shocked” by the allegations, which came after a six-month police investigation.

State police said the probe was launched in December 2023 with the help of Britain-based officials after suspicious betting patterns were identified.

Macarthur FC chief executive Sam Krslovic said the club was caught off guard by the arrests but it would work with authorities, and added: “Integrity of our game is a foundation pillar and we will work closely with all relevant agencies on this matter.”

Davila was expected to be charged with two counts of engaging in conduct that corrupts a betting outcome of an event and two counts of facilitating conduct that corrupts a betting outcome of an event. The other two players will be charged with engaging in conduct that corrupts a betting outcome of an event.

Football Australia said it was made aware of the arrests on Friday and was cooperating with the investigation.

Macarthur FC have been in the A-League men’s competition since the 2020-21 season. The league has 11 clubs based in Australia and one in New Zealand, with this season’s grand final championship match scheduled for May 25.