Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Football Australia Issues Seven- and Five-Year Bans in A-League Yellow-Card Betting Case

The penalties follow court admissions, with community service offering a limited reduction.

Overview

  • Football Australia banned Riku Danzaki and amateur player Yuta Hirayama for seven years, backdated to June 1 following earlier no-fault interim suspensions.
  • Ex‑Macarthur FC midfielders Clayton Lewis and Kearyn Baccus received five‑year bans backdated to May 17, each reducible by 12 months upon completing 200 hours of approved community service.
  • Danzaki and Hirayama were convicted in August in the Melbourne Magistrates Court and fined $5,000 each for a yellow‑card betting scheme.
  • Lewis and Baccus pleaded guilty in September, received two‑year conditional release orders without convictions, and were ordered to repay the $10,000 they took to deliberately earn cautions.
  • Former Macarthur captain Ulises Davila pleaded guilty to facilitating the scheme and awaits sentencing, while all four banned players have accepted the sanctions with no appeals.