A former A-League player of the year and captain has admitted to his role in influencing betting outcomes on the field in a major sporting scandal.

Ex-Macarthur FC leader Ulises Davila was found to have liaised with an overseas figure known as “J Col” to manipulate results across the 2023/24 season, including discussions of fixing a finals series match.

As part of the exchanges, the pair used the banana emoji as code to discuss the market for yellow-card fixing.

The Mexican on Thursday pleaded guilty in the Downing Centre Local Court to engaging in and facilitating conduct that corrupts the betting outcome of an event. The charges relate to Macarthur’s match against Sydney FC on December 9, 2023, as well as other matches between January 7 and May 3, 2024.

A further eight charges were d

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