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- Dandenong Thunder play in Victoria’s NPL 1 competition
- The highest level in the state apart from the A-League
- The club is “deeply concerned” by the match-fixing allegations
- A Thunder employee has also been charged with drug offences
A semi-professional football club that competes in the top tier of Victoria under A-League faces an uncertain future after allegations of match-fixing.
Police have also charged a prominent Dandenong Thunder club official with drug offences.
Bomb development comes after a a trio of A-League stars were arrested earlier this year following alleged ‘spot-fixing’ in matches involving Macarthur FC.
Police allege former captain Ulises Davila passed $10,000 to two of his teammates to deliberately receive cautions during target matches.
Davila, 33, is said to have worked with an organized crime suspect crime a figure based in South America.
Bulls midfielder Kearin Backus and New Zealand international Clayton Lewis have been suspended with immediate effect pending an investigation, with the matter still before the courts.
A semi-professional football club that competes in Victoria’s top tier below the A-League faces an uncertain future after allegations of match-fixing (pictured, Dandenong Thunder logo)
Police have also charged a Dandenong Thunder club official with drug offenses (pictured, the club’s home ground)
Daily Mail Australia is not suggesting that any of the Thunder players or coaches are involved in any illegal activity (stock image)
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Dandenong Thunder told the Star newspaper the club was “deeply concerned” by the allegations.
“Dandenong Thunder is deeply concerned by the allegations relating to our club,” it said in a statement.
“The club will make no further statements while the investigation is ongoing.”
Daily Mail Australia has learned that police raided the Dandenong Thunder clubrooms at George Andrews Reserve, as well as several nearby homes, on December 11 to investigate suspected match-fixing.
Victoria Police confirmed detectives from the Sporting Integrity Intelligence Unit and the Viper Task Force executed warrants at addresses in Dandenong in Melbourne’s south-east in connection with an “ongoing investigation into a sports club”.
It will be alleged that the club has links to suspected organized crime figures.
No match-fixing charges appear to have been laid at this stage.
A 29-year-old Dandenong man was charged with cultivating a drug plant, possessing a drug of dependence and failing to comply with an order to provide data from a storage device.
Another Dandenong man, aged 33, was charged with drug possession and both were bailed to appear in Melbourne Magistrates Court.
A third Dandenong man, aged 44, was arrested and released pending further enquiries, police said, with an investigation by anti-gang and sports corruption detectives continuing.
Founded by Albanian migrants in the 1970s, the Thunder’s club members are predominantly Albanian Australians.
Daily Mail Australia is not suggesting that any of the Thunder players or coaches are involved in any illegal activity.
