A Malaysian man accused of being part of an international conspiracy to fix Victorian soccer matches could spend two years in custody before his charges are dealt with.
Segaran "Gerry" Gsubramaniam, 45, is accused of fixing five Southern Stars games in the semi-professional Victorian Premier League between July and September.
Gsubramaniam, who faces charges of engaging in and facilitating conduct that corrupts or could corrupt the outcome of a betting event, was denied bail in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Tuesday.
Four English Southern Stars players and the team's Australian coach have been charged with similar match-fixing offences and are on bail.
Magistrate Jelena Popovic said she denied Gsubramaniam bail with grave reluctance, as it could take up to two years before the case is finalised.
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However, she said no suitable accommodation had been proposed for Gsubramaniam, and he would lack the ability to support himself.
Gsubramaniam is accused of receiving instructions from a syndicate in Hungary and Malaysia on what the results of the matches should be.
Detective Senior Constable Tracey Van Den Heuvel said police were concerned the syndicate was trying to assist Gsubramaniam in getting bail, and that he would immediately try to leave Australia if bail was granted.
She said a man who had offered to house Gsubramaniam had changed his mind because he was afraid for his own safety.
"(He) said he had concerns that there may be an attempt on the life of Mr Gsubramaniam," Det Sen Const Van Heuvel told the court.
But Ms Popovic said police were making "amorphous statements with no basis".
"All I have at the moment are very vague allegations," she said.
"There have been significant matters raised but very little to substantiate them."
Defence lawyer Michael Gleeson told the court that Gsubramaniam had no criminal record, was co-operating with police and had entered the country legally and on his own passport.
When interviewed by police, he claimed he was just "small fry" in the syndicate, the court has been told.
Gsubramaniam and his five co-accused, who were all granted bail last week, will return to the Melbourne Magistrates Court on December 6.
The Southern Stars, based in the southern Melbourne suburb of Dingley, played 21 games this season for just one win, with 16 losses and four draws.
Football Federation Victoria last week declared that points, goals scored and league best-and-fairest votes in all matches involving the Southern Stars this year would not be valid because they were potentially compromised.
