Football Australia has handed down significant bans to four footballers following investigations into spot-fixing and betting offenses within the A-League. The penalties stem from incidents involving yellow card manipulation during matches.

Riku Danzaki, formerly with Western United, and amateur player Yuta Hirayama each received seven-year bans, which were backdated to June 1. These severe penalties reflect the gravity of their involvement in the scandal.

Additionally, former Macarthur FC players Clayton Lewis and Kearyn Baccus received two-year conditional release orders for their roles. Both players admitted to accepting bribes of AU$10,000 to intentionally receive yellow cards during a match in December 2023. To avoid conviction, Baccus and Lewis must repay the bribes.

Ulises Davila, the former captain who facilitated the actions, also pleaded guilty and awaits sentencing. All players involved accepted their punishments without appeal.

The New South Wales state police, with assistance from the United Kingdom Gambling Commission, launched Strike Force Beaconview to investigate suspicious betting patterns identified last December. The investigation revealed that attempts were made to manipulate yellow cards during games played in November and December. All three accused players received yellow cards in a December 9 game against Sydney FC. Investigators also found unsuccessful attempts were made to repeat the scheme during matches on April 20 and May 4.

Football Australia issued a statement acknowledging the seriousness of the matter and their commitment to cooperating fully with authorities.