Football Australia facing integrity probe amid match-fixing allegations
ABC Investigations can reveal the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission will launch a 'suitability review' of Football Australia that will examine the governing body's integrity measures, as well as the range of betting markets it allows on soccer games in Australia.
The revelations of the probe come after Victoria Police this week charged 25-year-old Western United player Riku Danzaki with 10 match-fixing charges for allegedly intentionally receiving yellow cards during A-League matches in April and May.
In May last year, NSW Police charged Macarthur FC players Ulises Davila, Kearyn Bacchus and Clayton Lewis with match-fixing offences also allegedly involving yellow cards.
The VGCCC says the latest match-fixing allegations involving the Western United player were "concerning."
"The VGCCC will conduct a suitability review of FA in the 2025–26 financial year to assess its ability to ensure the integrity of its events," the regulator said in statement.
"This will include looking at the activities FA allows betting on, such as yellow cards.
"The scope of the FA review is yet to be finalised but will focus on the legislated integrity requirements of sports controlling bodies."
In a statement, Football Australia said the VGCCC informed it of the review in April.
"Football Australia welcomes the opportunity to continue to refine our vigilance against integrity threats," it said.
"Football Australia subscribes to continual vigilance in our standards to meet this challenge, but it's something that all Australian and international sports, regulators and government agencies must do together, as this stain isn't unique to footy players.
"The job on integrity is never complete as offenders are becoming more and more sophisticated."
Under Victoria's gambling laws, Football Australia is a designated "sports controlling body", which gives it the responsibility to oversee integrity of soccer and the power to negotiate with betting companies about the range of events on which they can offer bets.
It also enables Football Australia to earn a portion of the revenue of gambling on soccer games – including bets on the number of yellow cards in a match.
Football Australia has similar powers and responsibilities under New South Wales gambling laws.
In 2023, Four Corners revealed Football Australia was allowing bookmakers to offer bets on all levels of the sport – from international games to amateur suburban matches.
Most other major sporting bodies, such as the AFL and NRL, only allow betting on first and second-tier professional competitions.
While the VGCCC has not disclosed the terms of reference for its inquiry, Melbourne University sports law expert Jack Anderson said it would likely focus on the range of gambling Football Australia allows on all levels of professional and amateur soccer in the country.
"Probably what [the regulator] is doing is saying, yes, we have agreed that Football Australia can allow a range of bets on football. But are some of these bets presenting such a risk that they should be struck off and not offered?" he said.
Professor Anderson said soccer governing bodies and authorities around the world are grappling with rising instances of alleged match fixing involving yellow cards, which is one of the few elements of play in the sport that can be influenced by a single player.
"It's very discrete, in that a player can effect the foul that generates the yellow card. And they can do it almost to the minute, or to a particular time in the game."
Brazilian midfielder Lucas Paqueta, who plays with English Premier League side West Ham United, is facing a possible lifetime ban after the UK Football Association charged him with allegedly intentionally receiving yellow cards as part of a spot-fixing operation.
Paqueta has denied any wrongdoing.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Australian
25 minutes ago
- The Australian
Why Demons had to sack Simon Goodwin
One mulligan is acceptable, two simply aren't. The Melbourne board really had no alternative but to part ways with Simon Goodwin given the trajectory the club had been heading under his watch over the past four years. When they sat down on Monday night to discuss whether to pull the plug on the 2021 premiership coach, the only question they had to consider was whether Goodwin was going to be the Demons' next premiership coach. Given the state of the list and the performances over the past 12 months, they knew they were no longer in the premiership window and at best they might be four or five years away from contending again. Could they see Goodwin being the man to lead the next charge? The simple answer was no. They then had to get their heads around whether they were happy to cop a $1 million payout for Goodwin's final year of his contract. In the end they realised they had to stem the bleeding. They had given Goodwin a mulligan for last year where the Demons finished 14th in a year that saw two of their best players, Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver, at various stages wanting out from the club. The season from hell had come off the back of two inglorious finals series where they'd finished top four at the end of the home and away season and then flopped badly with straight sets exits from September. Goodwin had promised to get all Kumbaya over the summer. Rebuilding relationships was his buzz phrase, tennis legend Ash Barty's mindset coach Ben Crowe was brought in with more focus on bonding than kicking the Sherrin. On the eve of the season Goodwin was asked in a fans forum what he was hoping for the most in 2025. 'This one is really simple for me. It's about making sure our players love the game. They have fun, they enjoy themselves, they smile, and ultimately, they reach their full potential,' he said. 'That's the biggest thing I'm looking for, for the players in 2025 to see the joy that they have for the game, and I'm sure if they're having fun and enjoying themselves, that our supporters are going to be smiling a lot as well.' Three weeks later no-one was smiling and the seeds of Goodwin's demise had been sewn. A three-point loss to the GWS Giants at the MCG to open the season can be squared away but a 59-point loss to North Melbourne at Marvel Stadium in Round 2 followed by a 58-point loss to the Gold Coast at the MCG the following week simply can't. Losing the first five games of the season – including another unforgivable 39-point loss to Essendon in Gather Round – meant the Demons were chasing their tails all season. Then the spotlight went from don't worry we now love each other again to the outdated playing style, the lack of any sort of working forward structure and a clear black hole in the development of players. That's all on the coach. Goodwin tried to get away from the contested slow ball movement style but either his players didn't listen or it wasn't drilled into them properly. There was a flicker mid-season where they seemed to attack more from halfback but it was short-lived. And the fact the forward line was being held up by 33-year-old Jake Melksham was an indictment. It has been Melbourne's achilles heel for years and Goodwin's failure to find a solution was a big cross against his name. As was the lack of improvement throughout the playing ranks this season. You could argue only four players increased their level of output in 2025. Back pocket Jake Bowey, Daniel Turner, Kysaiah Pickett and Melksham. That's it and that doesn't look good on a whiteboard in a board meeting. With the season slipping away there was an understanding at Melbourne that they could no longer keep going back to the well with the Big Five – Max Gawn, Steven May, Jack Viney, Petracca and Oliver. Something had to give. Oliver's huge contract meant he was going to be hard to move even though he wanted to go to Geelong last year. Despite saying the right things the lingering fallout from Petracca's injury last season still lingers as does Collingwood's interest. Viney won the best and fairest last year, had North Melbourne knocking so got a new four-year deal which at 31 seemed overs. He then struggled this year with his spot in the midfield being questioned. May continues to find trouble on and off the field but at 33 does he have any suitors? As for Gawn, he was again left to be the public face of the club and he'd want to be getting paid handsomely for his weekly morning radio gig given every week he was required to throw his support behind the coach and say things are about to turn around. In the end the board got sick of hearing the same things over and over again. The coach repeatedly finding 'learners' in losses which, given their talent, should never have been happening in the first place. Fans grew tired of it and voted with their feet as attendances plummeted and even in their eyes it was becoming obvious that the credits Goodwin had in the bank for breaking the club's 57-year premiership drought had run out. For diehard Demons fans one of Goodwin's more memorable moments came back in 2018 when they'd won five games in a row and the coach borrowed a line from the Hollywood blockbuster The Wolf Of Wall Street to address the hype around his team. He wheeled out the word 'fugazi' – a slang term, generally meaning fake, bogus or not genuine – which Matthew McConaughey's character had dropped in the Academy Award-winning film in conversation with lead character Wall Street stockbroker Jordan Belfort played by Leonardo DiCaprio. 'It goes something like it's fugazi, it's a whazy, it's a woozie,' was Goodwin's movie quote. Unfortunately for the Melbourne coach there was nothing fugazi about the phone call he received on Monday night. Watch: Petracca reacts to Goodwin's bombshell axing Scott Gullan Score Columnist - AFL/Athletics writer Scott Gullan has more than 25 years experience in sports journalism. He is News Corp's chief athletics writer and award-winning AFL correspondent. He's covered numerous Olympic Games, world championships and Commonwealth Games. He's also the man behind the Herald Sun's popular Score column. AFL Travis Boak says he is 'incredibly grateful' to Port Adelaide as he announced his retirement, with the 384-game veteran to go down as one of the club's best players in its 150-year history. AFL Simon Goodwin's time at Melbourne is over with the premiership coach sacked in the midst of another disappointing Demons season.
The Australian
25 minutes ago
- The Australian
Port champion Boak hangs up boots shy of 400-game milestone
Port Adelaide veteran Travis Boak won't join the rare 400-game club after opting to retire as his club's games record holder at the end of the season following an elite career. Boak, 37, has racked up a mammoth 384 games but has called time with the prospect of joining the 400 club not enough to keep him going on for another year. The three-time All Australian, two-time club best and fairest winner and Port's longest-serving captain sits seventh on the all-time VFL/AFL list for matches played. He broke Port Adelaide legend Russell Ebert's club games record, which were all played in the SANFL, earlier this year. 'After 19 years at AFL level, it feels like now is the right time to finish my career,' Boak said. 'I'm incredibly grateful to have had the career I've had and at a club I truly love. Being a one-club player is really special to me, and it's certainly not lost on me how lucky I have been. Travis Boak has announced is retirement. Picture: Sarah Reed/AFL Photos via Getty Images 'I have played alongside some of the greatest footballers, and people, I could have hoped to meet. From Robbie Gray to Ollie Wines, Sam Powell-Pepper, to the new generation in Connor Rozee, Zak Butters and Jason Horne-Francis, it's been an incredible ride. 'Thank you to the club, to my family, my teammates and my coaches for the memories over the years. The highs and lows are what makes footy exciting, and those moments are what connect a group in a significant and authentic way. 'More than football, I hope to be remembered as someone who always carried myself in the right way and gave people my time. A human being first and an athlete second. 'The Port Adelaide fans are loud, passionate, and supportive. They demand success. And while I haven't been able to help deliver them an elusive second AFL premiership, I can't wait to sit back and watch on as this club does that for them. 'I'll forever be a Port Adelaide person, and I'll forever be grateful for this part of my life.' Port coach Ken Hinkley said Boak was 'a person and leader who embodies everything Port Adelaide stands for'. 'He's someone who is selfless, caring, courageous and never satisfied,' Hinkley said. 'Coaching Travis has been one of the great privileges of my career. He's taught me as much as I've taught him. Watching him grow from player to captain to a modern-day club legend has been a privilege, and I feel incredibly fortunate to have been part of that journey.' Read related topics: Adelaide
The Australian
26 minutes ago
- The Australian
Salim Mehajer shares update after release from prison
Salim Mehajer has shared a personal update after being released on parole after almost five years behind bars. Shared to his Instagram story overnight, Mehajer revealed a glimpse of his new-found freedom with a selfie. Sporting his new haircut and a grey tracksuit, the 39-year-old former Auburn deputy mayor wrote only his initials in the top corner of the post. The selfie comes only weeks after Mehajer was released on parole after spending five years in jail for back-to-back sentences and multiple convictions. Shortly after his release, Mehajer made stops at Service NSW to apply for a new driver's licence and a cosmetic dentist in Hornsby. It has been reported Mehajer was hoping to get his teeth fixed after his time behind bars, with teeth-whitening services offered at $549 and a full mouth implant starting at $24,990 per arch. On Monday, Mehajer – who has ditched the man bun he was sporting when he walked out of prison – announced he would be represented by Zali Burrows in his appeal. His appeal argues the domestic violence conviction and sentence were 'defective' and unfair. He was jailed in November 2020 after being found guilty of two counts of perverting the course of justice, and one count of making a false statement under oath. In 2023, he was found guilty in separate trials for domestic violence and fraud matters. He was sentenced to a maximum of seven years and nine months' jail, but was released on July 18 after his non-parole period expired. He was convicted of punching his ex-partner in the head, squeezing her hand and crushing her phone during an argument inside his car. Mehajer was found guilty of suffocating her by putting his hand over her mouth and nose until she collapsed, and threatened to kill her mother. A jury found him guilty of six charges – including assault, suffocating and intimidation – and was also found guilty of forging signatures of his sister and Ms Burrows, who was his solicitor at the time. As part of his parole, Mehajer must report to a community corrections officer, participate in domestic violence programs as directed, receive ongoing treatment by a private psychologist and undergo alcohol and drug testing. Breaking News Two men have been seriously injured in an incident involving concrete equipment at a worksite in Sydney's northwest. Breaking News Collingwood could welcome a pair of key premiership players back this week but the wretched run of another has taken another twist.
