Police said they moved to arrest the players on Friday because of concerns the men would leave Australian shores in the coming weeks.

Police also wish to speak to a fourth Macarthur FC player in connection with the betting investigation, who is expected to face charges.

“We are hoping that player returns to our state or we will be seeking his extradition,” assistant commissioner Michael Fitzgerald said.

Police allege hundreds of thousands of dollars were paid out in illegal bets as a result of just one of the successfully manipulated matches.

“Whilst $10,000 may seem a lot of money to a young sportsperson, we will advise that is incredibly insignificant when you consider the damage that being charged with this offence and convicted will result in the damage to this person’s reputation, damage to their club and code’s reputation, their livelihood and their future livelihood and the effect of being involved in these criminal acts,” Fitzgerald said.

“But more importantly it affects the confidence and trust that their supporters have in these young sportspeople that they will always play to the best of their ability.

“We will allege that these incidents, in November and December 2023, that these players betrayed the trust of their supporters and the code they supposedly love.”

Police do not believe players from any other Sydney clubs are involved in the allegedly corrupt betting.

“We are very shocked,” Macarthur FC chief executive officer Sam Krslovic said.

“Obviously, we need the courts to run their process. We’ll comment when appropriate as things develop.”

A spokesperson for Sport Integrity Australia confirmed the agency and the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission acted on information provided by the United Kingdom Gambling Commission and referred the matter to police.

Football Australia said in a statement it was aware of the arrests.

“Football Australia has been made aware of the arrests of three A-League Men players this morning, following an investigation by the NSW Police Force Organised Crime Squad into alleged betting corruption under Strike Force Beaconview,” a statement from Football Australia said.

“Football Australia is fully co-operating with the Organised Crime Squad, Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, Sport Integrity Australia and the NSW Crime Commission in this matter.

“Football Australia will provide no further comments at this stage as the investigation is ongoing.”

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