Macarthur FC

Doloras

WanderingSheep

Super disappointed in Uli.

I got yelled at on Reddit for this take, but: you're in the twilight of your career, you're living far from home in a country where they don't speak your first language, your wife died, you're the single dad of a toddler, that's the kind of pileup of anxieties and disruptions that lead to making stupid or even criminal decisions

Oh I actually totally understand, I can't for a second imagine being in his shoes. Doesn't take away from the disappointment though. We all still love him and it's horrendous for him. It's shark that this had to break on the eve of our biggest ever game.

Terrible for such a new club like Macarthur who are really still trying to find their fan base - this won't help. 

Also if Lewis was involved that'll mean he won't be suiting up for the All Whites in the Nations Cup next month (and possibly ever again depending on how bad this all ends up being)

Petition to change this thread's title to "Macarthur FC - You Better You Bet"

 

pic.twitter.com/GUlDnwKu5U

— A-League images that precede unfortunate events (@PeakALeague) May 17, 2024

 

Doloras

WanderingSheep

Super disappointed in Uli.

I got yelled at on Reddit for this take, but: you're in the twilight of your career, your wife died, you're the single dad of a toddler, that's the kind of pileup of anxieties and disruptions that lead to making stupid or even criminal decisions

The kind of stupid decision that will likely scrub any legacy he would have left after life in the A-League. So, so disappointing.

Listening to the police presser. The police story is that the "senior member of the football criminal group" (i.e. Davila?) was paying the other two 10K a pop to get yellow cards.

Oh, and there's a fourth player, currently out of state, that the cops would like a word with

The timing of this could not be worse.  I imagine that our lads had a light training run this morning.  They will have come off the field into the dressing rooms to find out about this.  No doubt the social media feeds are full of it, if they do not read news feeds.  All of our squad will know the players concerned and in some cases are ex-teammates of the player/s concerned.  The last thing we need as a distraction before tomorrow.  

I do not care who is involved.  Proven guilty, Lifetime ban from football in any capacity. A la cricketer Lou Vincent.

Walsall Boy

The timing of this could not be worse.  I imagine that our lads had a light training run this morning.  They will have come off the field into the dressing rooms to find out about this.  No doubt the social media feeds are full of it, if they do not read news feeds.  All of our squad will know the players concerned and in some cases are ex-teammates of the player/s concerned.  The last thing we need as a distraction before tomorrow.  

I do not care who is involved.  Proven guilty, Lifetime ban from football in any capacity. A la cricketer Lou Vincent.

Imagine how Rufer, Ball, and Payne could be feeling after this has come out. They know Davila better than anyone in the current Phoenix team.

Wusty Wab

Walsall Boy

The timing of this could not be worse.  I imagine that our lads had a light training run this morning.  They will have come off the field into the dressing rooms to find out about this.  No doubt the social media feeds are full of it, if they do not read news feeds.  All of our squad will know the players concerned and in some cases are ex-teammates of the player/s concerned.  The last thing we need as a distraction before tomorrow.  

I do not care who is involved.  Proven guilty, Lifetime ban from football in any capacity. A la cricketer Lou Vincent.

Imagine how Rufer, Ball, and Payne could be feeling after this has come out. They know Davila better than anyone in the current Phoenix team.

Rufer’s probably thinking that he could’ve been a millionaire by now, if he had signed with MacArthur ! 😉

A millionaire? By what the cops said at the presser, you'd have to get 100 yellows to earn that

Wusty Wab

Walsall Boy

The timing of this could not be worse.  I imagine that our lads had a light training run this morning.  They will have come off the field into the dressing rooms to find out about this.  No doubt the social media feeds are full of it, if they do not read news feeds.  All of our squad will know the players concerned and in some cases are ex-teammates of the player/s concerned.  The last thing we need as a distraction before tomorrow.  

I do not care who is involved.  Proven guilty, Lifetime ban from football in any capacity. A la cricketer Lou Vincent.

Imagine how Rufer, Ball, and Payne could be feeling after this has come out. They know Davila better than anyone in the current Phoenix team.

reporters are tweeting they think it's Lewis as well. 

Lewis’ name spreading now. I really hope it isn’t.

nufc_nz

Lewis’ name spreading now. I really hope it isn’t.

If true, that makes it just about all of the current squad with personal connection.  He was Phoenix last season

Walsall Boy

nufc_nz

Lewis’ name spreading now. I really hope it isn’t.

 If true, that makes it just about all of the current squad.  He was Phoenix last season

Davila/Baccus/Lewis are the names going around on Twitter.

If true, what an absolutely moronic thing to do.

News orgs have started naming Lewis, alongside Davila and Baccus and at least 1 player still to be charged.

Bunch of idiots. Lewis better never get to wear the fern again.

Doloras

A millionaire? By what the cops said at the presser, you'd have to get 100 yellows to earn that

He's 35% of the way there! 😆

Nelfoos

News orgs have started naming Lewis, alongside Davila and Baccus and at least 1 player still to be charged.

Bunch of idiots. Lewis better never get to wear the fern again.

Agreed.

Maybe getting too far ahead of myself with this as well, but would Lewis be liable to be put up as a 501 because of this? 

If so, I can't imagine Narelle would be overly impressed given the role she has within Aussie football circles over there...

Regardless, absolute idiocy from all involved. Careers are in the sharkter after this one.

Re: Uli -
How can anyone say they understand?? Yes he's a widower and that's super tough. But he's commanding more coin per year than most of us can dream about! He's been a professional footballer his whole life and if memory serves, he turned down a "blank cheque" from Welnix to go to greener (pun intended) pastures.

Unless there was some sort of duress at play, this needs to be a hefty if not a lifetime ban, sorry.

Also, should Lewis also be involved, to anyone thinking this might make NZF or football in NZ bad, I disagree. Yes, it's likely two players who are ex-Nix are involved. But how many ex-Nixers are there in total and who's been in trouble since? Disco Troy...and I'm struggling to think about anyone else.

Chris Killen, that former AW GK (EDIT: M. Utting, thanks Doloras) who took advantage of the disabled...people will do stupid or greedy stuff at some point in their life, but the responsibility is theirs and theirs alone.

The dodgy goalkeeper was Michael Utting, delete Jason Batty's name before he sues you lol.  And I still think Hearfield is a legend for being busted shoplifting a chainsaw from Bunnings.

More seriously - there is very rarely any excuse for criminal behaviour. I have recent experiences when genuinely good people, under pressure, have done criminal and inexcusable things. They did the crime and they have to suffer the consequences. But if we understand what led them there, they may have a hope of turning their lives around (although in this case Uli's football career is fudgeed, maybe he might be able to come back one day as a coach like Lou Vincent did if he really makes amends)

Totally with you, Doloras. 
I'm all about second chances and curing the cause as well as the symptoms. 
All I'm saying is that individuals act of their own accord and should also face the music.
I'm Italian so I probably know more about betting scandals than the average person lol

So! Any speculation on who the fourth Macarthur player who is currently "on the run" is?

(hah, I almost said "any bets")

Doloras

So! Any bets on who the fourth Macarthur player who is currently "on the run" is?

I suspect Germain - he collected some baffling yellows in matches I watched this season.

https://www.ultimatealeague.com/statistics/player/?type=pb&show=all&club=15

Macarthur yellow cards this season. At $10k a pop that would make the  favorites Borges Rodrigues, Germain and Jurman.

Kinda shocked Uskok only got 3!

I doubt fixing yellow cards is a "volume" things as a) the more yellows you get, the less the bookmakers will pay and b) it's easier to get found out.
Could be anyone really, I reckon 

This may be too soon, so apologies if it is. But I hope someone cleverer than me can work a chant around all this business in time for our first home game vs Macarthur next season.

Nelfoos

https://www.ultimatealeague.com/statistics/player/?type=pb&show=all&club=15

Macarthur yellow cards this season. At $10k a pop that would make the  favorites Borges Rodrigues, Germain and Jurman.

Kinda shocked Uskok only got 3!

Uskok 3 yellow cards for a whole season? That's the most surprising stat I've seen in ages! He's absolute filth...

newzealandpower

I doubt fixing yellow cards is a "volume" things as a) the more yellows you get, the less the bookmakers will pay and b) it's easier to get found out.
Could be anyone really, I reckon 

It's been reported that Uli was paying his co-conspirators $10k per yellow

If I can get two yellows in the stands tomorrow, Can I have $20k please??

Or he might just be a dishonest cod

Doloras

WanderingSheep

Super disappointed in Uli.

I got yelled at on Reddit for this take, but: you're in the twilight of your career, you're living far from home in a country where they don't speak your first language, your wife died, you're the single dad of a toddler, that's the kind of pileup of anxieties and disruptions that lead to making stupid or even criminal decisions

loyalgunner

This may be too soon, so apologies if it is. But I hope someone cleverer than me can work a chant around all this business in time for our first home game vs Macarthur next season.

If Macarthur still exist by then

newzealandpower

Re: Uli -
How can anyone say they understand?? Yes he's a widower and that's super tough. But he's commanding more coin per year than most of us can dream about! He's been a professional footballer his whole life and if memory serves, he turned down a "blank cheque" from Welnix to go to greener (pun intended) pastures.

Unless there was some sort of duress at play, this needs to be a hefty if not a lifetime ban, sorry.

Also, should Lewis also be involved, to anyone thinking this might make NZF or football in NZ bad, I disagree. Yes, it's likely two players who are ex-Nix are involved. But how many ex-Nixers are there in total and who's been in trouble since? Disco Troy...and I'm struggling to think about anyone else.

Chris Killen, that former AW GK (EDIT: M. Utting, thanks Doloras) who took advantage of the disabled...people will do stupid or greedy stuff at some point in their life, but the responsibility is theirs and theirs alone.

ifill was betting on himself while at the nix

loyalgunner

This may be too soon, so apologies if it is. But I hope someone cleverer than me can work a chant around all this business in time for our first home game vs Macarthur next season.

I'll oblige you 😆
Filling in time before knock off.

Que sera, sera
Whatever the card may be
You're off to Prison FC
Que sera, sera.

Rudimentary, but there's lots to work with as well as plenty of time. 😅

Doloras

WanderingSheep

Super disappointed in Uli.

I got yelled at on Reddit for this take, but: you're in the twilight of your career, you're living far from home in a country where they don't speak your first language, your wife died, you're the single dad of a toddler, that's the kind of pileup of anxieties and disruptions that lead to making stupid or even criminal decisions

I've always thought of Sydney, as Aussie's 'Sin City'. 
Plenty of dodgy characters in that town. At least 2 Kiwis I know who moved there years ago went off the rails, after being good solid citizens prior.

And yes Narelle with be absolutely furious if yes her beau is one of the three. Finally in the same city together and got her dream job presenting football (esp the women's game). Clayton likely won't be getting many conjugal visits. But fingers crossed it ain't really him.

YoungHeartHM

Nelfoos

News orgs have started naming Lewis, alongside Davila and Baccus and at least 1 player still to be charged.

Bunch of idiots. Lewis better never get to wear the fern again.

Agreed.

Maybe getting too far ahead of myself with this as well, but would Lewis be liable to be put up as a 501 because of this? 

If so, I can't imagine Narelle would be overly impressed given the role she has within Aussie football circles over there...

Regardless, absolute idiocy from all involved. Careers are in the sharkter after this one.

Stuff NZ reporting now Davila, Lewis and Baccus.  NSW police also saying that they are prepared to extradite the 4th.  That does not necessarily say that the 4th is now outside Australia. With their police being state based, that could mean he is outside of NSW. 

I guess he needed to show one more yellow to get the final $10k
ETA: oh God, if you really want images of Uli, Clayton (?) and that other dude getting busted, the cops have them all online

uli.png 243.92 KB

Ya gotta laugh, Sports betting on Yellow Cards and Swat arrives to arrest them. Overkill??

Davila in the yellow goodies, lewis in the blue?

Both are short with similar skin tone.

And suddenly Rufer can step into the All Whites team…

MetalLegNZ

Davila in the yellow goodies, lewis in the blue?

Both are short with similar skin tone.

The yellow is in Coogee, the blue in Parramatta, which lines up with where Davila and Lewis live respectively

Certainly an unexpected extra test of Rufer & Chief's leadership skills, to not have this mess distract their squad on match eve. 

Of course the VUC are completely unaffected by these dramas at Macarthur. Popovic will be thanking his lucky stars, this little gift. Does he have a mate in the NSW Police, re the timing!

nufc_nz

And suddenly Rufer can step into the All Whites team…

4D chess from Rufer right there.