A-League player Clayton Lewis to fight betting fix allegation

A third soccer player caught up in the A-League yellow card betting scandal plans to fight the charges.

Clayton Rhys Lewis, 27, faced a Sydney court on Thursday accused of corrupting betting outcomes and participating in a criminal group after being charged along with two teammates in May.

Police allege he was among Macarthur Bulls A-League players who deliberately received yellow cards during matches, being paid up to $10,000.

Lewis did not comment as he left the Downing Centre Local Court, where his lawyer said he will fight the allegations.

“I’m instructed Mr Lewis will defend this charge, entering a plea of not guilty,” Zemarai Khatiz told the court.

Lewis’ bail was varied slightly with consent from police, who are expected to serve a brief of evidence by August.

He is accused of deliberately getting yellow-carded in a December match against Sydney FC, knowing he was corrupting the betting market by doing so.

Lewis is also charged with participating in a criminal group along with four other players.

Former Bulls captain Ulises Davila, 33, allegedly influenced other players to take part in the scheme.

He and the club “agreed on a mutual termination of his contract” as he faced court in June.

Kearyn Baccus, 32, has also faced court over the alleged scheme.

All three are due to return to court on August 22.

Two other players have been named in court documents as participating in a criminal group with the accused trio but have not yet been charged.

Police allege the betting scheme led to hundreds of thousands of dollars being paid out in winnings and was headed by a South American contact.