Players accused of fixing Victorian soccer matches are living in fear of the alleged kingpin of the Australian arm of a global betting syndicate, a court has been told.
Malaysian man Segaran "Gerry" Gsubramaniam has been accused of leading an operation to fix five games involving the Southern Stars club in the semi-professional Victorian Premier League between July and September this year.
Gsubramaniam, 45, has been charged with five counts of engaging in conduct that corrupts or could corrupt the outcome of a betting event, and five charges of facilitating conduct that corrupts or could corrupt the outcome of a betting event.
Four Southern Stars players from England and their Australian coach Zia Younan, 36, have been charged with similar offences.
At a bail hearing in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Friday, Detective Acting Senior Sergeant Scott Poynder said police were investigating Gsubramaniam's links to other clubs in Victoria, Queensland and overseas.
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
The court heard Gsubramaniam and the four charged players - Reiss Noel, 24, David Obaze, 23, Joe Woolley, 23, and 27-year-old Nicholas McKoy - are currently in Australia on working holiday and tourist visas.
Some of the players had expressed fear of Gsubramaniam, and one had put a chair against his hotel door to stop people breaking in, Det Poynder said.
"They fear Mr Gsubramaniam will arrange people to come and visit them," he said.
Det Poynder said there was evidence that Gsubramaniam had received about $230,000 in money transfers in the past three months.
Gsubramaniam told police that the money he received was to pay the players' wages, accommodation bills and car rental expenses, Det Poynder said.
Gsubramaniam also claimed in his interview that he was just the "small fry" in the syndicate, and had not been involved for very long.
Prosecutor Peter Rose SC said Gsubramaniam posed an unacceptable flight risk as he had no permanent ties to Australia.
"He is, we say, part of a large international syndicate that is operating in this country," Mr Rose said.
"If he goes out of the country, we have got no way of getting him back."
But defence lawyer Michael Gleeson said Gsubramaniam had no criminal record and had entered the country legally and on his own passport.
Gsubramaniam's bail hearing was adjourned until Tuesday.
The coach and the four players have been granted bail, and have been ordered not to attend any soccer matches sanctioned by Football Federation Australia (FFA).
Their case will next be heard in the Melbourne Magistrates Court in December.
The Southern Stars, based in southeast suburban Dingley, have played 21 games this season for just one win, with 16 losses and four draws.
Their final game of the VPL season, scheduled for this weekend, has been forfeited by their opposition Bentleigh Greens.
