<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A former A-League player and his friend have been convicted and fined for committing yellow card betting fraud which "strikes at the heart of competitive sport".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Ex-Western United midfielder Riku Danzaki and amateur player Yuta Hirayama were each handed $5000 fines today.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The pair had pleaded to be spared conviction over the one-month fraud, where Hirayama would place bets on Danzaki deliberately receiving yellow cards.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/sydney-man-charged-with-possessing-terrorist-and-child-abuse-videos/d14f0451-3e94-4950-bf92-68a50f4d6ace" target="_blank"><strong><span>Sydney man charged with possessing terrorist and child abuse videos</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>However, magistrate Nick Goodenough decided to convict both men to ensure others were "deterred and discouraged from doing the same thing".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He said the offences "strike at the heart of competitive sport".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Supporters, teammates and coaching staff are entitled to know that all members of the team are working towards one objective," Goodenough told the Melbourne Magistrates Court.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/betrayal-soccer-players-convicted-over-betting-fraud/d7d66936-0400-4ecb-846b-4ed6c7051ba9" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Teams win, teams lose, teams draw, but on any given day, either team has a chance.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"What you have both done is a betrayal of that ideal and that trust."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Both pleaded guilty to seven betting corruption charges, including engaging in conduct that corrupts or would corrupt a betting outcome and one attempt at betting fraud.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>They made fraudulent bets through agencies, including Bet365 and Tabcorp, with Danzaki pocketing about $16,000 in winnings from three matches after deliberately receiving yellow cards.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The pair successfully bet on Western United matches on April 27, May 3 and May 9, after Danzaki told Hirayama he would attempt to deliberately receive yellow cards in those matches.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/cocobella-yoghurt-recalled-from-woolworths-iga/342dc85b-b234-4db6-8d7b-256420c10c18" target="_blank"><strong><span>Yoghurts pulled from supermarket shelves in nation-wide recall</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Hirayama placed bets on Danzaki in the "player to be booked" market and Danzaki went on to perform reckless tackles on opposition players to get carded.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>They also failed at placing bets on another match involving Melbourne City.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Hirayama and Danzaki agreed to split their winnings, with 70 per cent to go to the then-A-League player.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Although your roles are different, I'm of the view that you are equally liable for the totality of the offending," Goodenough said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"This type of offending undermines the integrity of sport, and it undermines the legal betting markets."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Both had moved to Australia from Japan to further their soccer careers.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/rewards-points-australia-the-future-of-point-spending/3a157734-b350-4c8b-b732-a7b3b73bed71" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>The future of rewards points in Australia</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>They met while playing for teams in Queensland, with Danzaki signed to Brisbane Roar in the A-League and Hirayama playing for Brisbane City in the state's premier league.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Both later moved to Melbourne, where Danzaki joined former A-League club Western United in mid-2023.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>His lawyer claimed at an earlier hearing that when Danzaki started playing for Western United, the embattled club was already under "significant financial strain" and was not paying players on time.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It is in this context ... that Mr Danzaki makes a very foolish decision," defence lawyer Lewis Winter said, adding that Western United has since gone into administration with their A-League licence revoked.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Hirayama's lawyer, Molly Deighton, said her client, who was suspended from Bayside Argonauts in Melbourne, wanted to stay in Australia but his student visa may be impacted if he was convicted.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Both lawyers asked the magistrate to take into account their early guilty pleas and admissions to police as soon as the fraud was uncovered, as well as their good character and lack of priors.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>:</span></em></strong><span> </span><em><strong><span>Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. 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