Vic soccer players didn't know games fixed
Overseas players at a Victorian soccer club accused of match fixing were given games regardless of form, a Melbourne court has heard.
Two members of the Southern Stars' 2013 Victorian Premier League team told the Melbourne Magistrates Court they did not know overseas imports were allegedly throwing games.
The Southern Stars won just one of their 21 games in the semi-professional league.
At least 11 overseas players were brought to the club from England and Europe during 2013.
Defender Andrew Viola said the English and European players seemed to play all the time, regardless of their form.
"I felt upset when I was being taken off when clearly some of these players were performing at a lower standard than myself, however they remained on the field," Mr Viola said in a statement on Monday.
"It didn't matter how they were performing, it appeared that they were always picked and always playing."
David Obaze, 25, Nicholas McKoy, 24, and coach Zia Younan, 37, have each been charged with 10 counts of corrupting a betting outcome.
Club captain Ramazan Tavsancioglu said he had never seen match fixing before, but he did not suspect it was happening during the season.
"If I had heard anything I would have told them to just get on the next plane and go home," Mr Tavsancioglu said.
The committal hearing has been adjourned until Tuesday.
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