Ulises Dávila pleads guilty in match-fixing case
Mexican soccer player Ulises Dávila, former player of the Mexican youth national team and former captain of Macarthur FC, has admitted his participation in a lucrative match-fixing scheme. Dávila, who was named A-League Men Player of the Year in 2021, was accused of being the ringleader of a betting scheme involving him and two Macarthur teammates, who deliberately sought yellow cards to satisfy the betting results. The charges relate to six matches from the 2023-24 A-League Men season. The former Chelsea player appeared before a Sydney court on Thursday and pleaded guilty to facilitating and participating in conduct that corrupts the outcome of betting on an event. The prosecution withdrew eight charges against him, including that of directing and participating in a criminal group. Dávila’s sentencing is scheduled for December 19. During a match on December 9, 2023, against Sydney FC, Dávila and his teammates Clayton Lewis and Kearyn Baccus received yellow cards. The captain was cautioned for delaying the game by kicking the ball, Lewis was cautioned for pushing an opponent in the chest, and Baccus was cautioned for an incorrect tackle. According to the facts agreed upon by Dávila’s teammates, bets had been placed on Macarthur’s team receiving at least four cards during the match. The winnings from bets placed through the Betplay betting site amounted to more than $200,000. Davila paid Lewis and Baccus $10,000 each for their participation in the betting scheme, according to teammates. Both men received good behavior bonds and avoided conviction in September, as the magistrate considered that the pair were “at the bottom of the scheme”. Lewis and Baccus emphasized that they got involved at the behest of Dávila, who, according to them, was “not only the captain of the team, but the captain of the scheme.” The three players were suspended by Macarthur FC after their arrests and are no longer under contract with the team. The club previously issued a forceful statement stating that it was necessary to address “serious deficiencies” around integrity processes in Australian football.An urgent and thorough review and reform of integrity protocols is required to safeguard the future of the game. Dávila was an elite youth talent who played in a U-20 World Cup with Mexico and was signed by the powerful English team Chelsea at the age of 20. He never made it to Chelsea’s first team and instead played in various leagues before arriving in the A-League Men in 2019 with the Wellington Phoenix. He won the Johnny Warren Medal as the league’s best player in 2020-21 and moved to Macarthur after that season, where he was named captain. In 2022, the Mexican suffered a great loss when Lily Pacheco, his wife and mother of his two-year-old son, suddenly passed away at the age of 31.The implemented systems are inadequate to protect the clubs from risk and lack the responsiveness needed to manage problems of this magnitude.
Macarthur FC Statement
