In a significant case that has rocked Australian football, a former highly-regarded A-League captain has escaped with only a financial penalty after being convicted of corrupting the betting outcomes of matches through a dubious overseas connection. Ulises Davila, the 34-year-old ex-skipper of Macarthur Bulls, was fined a total of $11,000 at Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court on February 18, following his guilty plea in October to charges of facilitating and engaging in conduct that corrupts betting outcomes.
The Betting Scheme and Overseas Liaison
The court heard that Davila liaised with a Colombian individual known only as 'J Col' in a sophisticated betting scheme that involved attempting to manipulate yellow card outcomes across five A-League games during the 2023 and 2024 seasons. The Mexican international enlisted teammates Clayton Lewis and Kearyn Baccus by arranging for them to receive on-field cautions during matches to satisfy predetermined betting outcomes.
Impact on Game Integrity
Magistrate Marguerite Vassall, while acknowledging that none of Davila's conduct actually impacted the final scores of any games, strongly condemned the actions, stating they "to some extent bring the integrity of the game into disrepute." The court heard specific details about how Lewis and Baccus were carded for various offences during the targeted matches, including pushing opponents in the chest and making poor tackles designed to attract referee attention.
Suspicious Betting Patterns and Financial Transactions
According to agreed facts presented in court, before a match on December 9, 2023, approximately 50 suspicious bets were placed through the gambling site BetPlay specifically on Macarthur FC receiving at least four disciplinary cards during the game. The winning payouts from these manipulated outcomes totalled more than $200,000, with around $26,500 in Mexican pesos being paid into a foreign bank account as part of the scheme.
Interestingly, there is no evidence that Davila personally received any funds from the overseas syndicate involved in the operation. However, the court heard that Lewis and Baccus each received $10,000 from their captain as direct payment for their roles in executing the yellow card fixing during matches.
Teammates' Sentences and Club Consequences
Both Clayton Lewis and Kearyn Baccus were handed good-behaviour bonds and escaped formal conviction in September, with the magistrate finding the pair were "right at the bottom of the scheme" compared to Davila's more central role. All three players were suspended by Macarthur Bulls following their arrests and are no longer under contract with the club, effectively ending their A-League careers over the scandal.
Davila's Football Career and Personal Response
The former captain was once considered an elite youth talent who represented Mexico at an under-20 World Cup and was signed by English powerhouse Chelsea as a promising 20-year-old. Although he never cracked the Blues' first team, Davila built a respectable career across multiple leagues before arriving in the A-League Men in 2019 with Wellington Phoenix.
His career highlight came when he won the prestigious Johnny Warren Medal as the league's best player in the 2020-21 season, subsequently shifting to Macarthur Bulls where he was appointed captain. In a social media video posted in September as his court case progressed, Davila reflected that his lesson from facing legal proceedings had been about "acceptance and resilience" in dealing with the consequences of his actions.
The case represents one of the most serious betting corruption scandals in recent A-League history and has prompted renewed discussions about sports integrity measures within Australian football. While Davila avoided more severe penalties, the substantial fine and career consequences serve as a stark warning about the serious repercussions of attempting to manipulate sporting outcomes for betting purposes.
