All White Clayton Lewis reportedly among three A-League players arrested by New South Wales Police. 

Australian media has reported that Lewis was one of three Macarthur FC players arrested, alongside captain Ulises Davila and midfielder Kearyn Baccus. Both Lewis and Davila are former Wellington Phoenix players, with Lewis making 63 appearances for the club before heading across the Tasman at the end of last season. 

NSW Police launched an investigation in December into the alleged yellow-card manipulation. 

Six months later, detectives revealed a “senior player” was allegedly taking instructions from a man — believed to be based in South America — to organise players taking yellow cards for money during matches. 

Police are yet to name any of the players who have been charged, but investigators said all three are attached to a club based in southwest Sydney. 

Police say yellow cards were manipulated during games played on November 24 and December 9. They also allege unsuccessful attempts were made to do the same thing during matches on April 20 and May 4. 

Police executed a search warrant at South Coogee in Sydney’s east on Friday, when they arrested a 33-year-old man. A 27-year-old was arrested in the suburb of Parramatta, while a 32-year-old was arrested in Campbelltown. 

The oldest of the trio is 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 are set to be charged with engaging in conduct that corrupts a betting outcome of an event. 

Davila, 33, signed for the Phoenix in 2019, captaining the side and making 50 appearances before moving to Macarthur in 2021. Lewis, 27, has earned 22 caps for the All Whites, most recently starting in a loss to Egypt in March. 

In a statement, the Australian Professional Leagues said it was aware of the arrests that came “as a result of international law enforcement coordination” focused on betting corruption. 

“The work to protect the integrity of our game must be unwavering and we are liaising closely with all relevant agencies on this matter,” the APL said. “Given the ongoing nature of the investigation and police enquiries we are unable to comment further at this time.”