Ulises Davila was taking instructions from a Colombian crime figure when he ran an alleged spot-fixing operation within Macarthur FC’s A-League team, court documents allege.

Davila faced court on Monday for the first time since he and two other players were arrested and charged with offences related to the deliberate accrual of yellow cards in two A-League matches for betting purposes, leading to hundreds of thousands of dollars in winnings being paid to an offshore third party.

Kearyn Baccus, who was recently released from his contract at Macarthur FC, was not present at the Downing Centre Local Court in Sydney on Monday when his case was also mentioned, while the third player, Clayton Lewis, is due to face court on Thursday. Davila and Baccus have made no comment on the charges. Lewis’ lawyer, Zemarai Khatiz, has previously said his client would plead not guilty.

Police allege Davila, Baccus and Lewis were involved in the manipulation of yellow cards in Macarthur’s A-League matches against Melbourne Victory on November 24 and Sydney FC on December 9, while two other failed attempts were made at later dates.

Court documents alleged the offshore figure from South America, who police have claimed was working with alleged ringleader Davila to operate the scheme, was from Colombia. The documents also alleged Davila had used his position as club captain to encourage other players to become involved by committing yellow-card offences for payment. Police have claimed Baccus and Lewis were each paid up to $10,000 for taking part.

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The documents again allege Baccus, Lewis and two other players who have not been charged, Matthew Millar and Jed Drew, as members of the so-called “criminal group” behind the spot-fixing operation.

Millar was also released by Macarthur FC earlier this month, while Drew is not considered a suspect and is not under police investigation, Football Australia said in a statement.

Davila had a small win when deputy chief magistrate Theo Tsavdaridis agreed to wind back his bail conditions, with the 33-year-old now only required to report to police once a week instead of twice.

The court heard that a brief of evidence would be presented to the players’ lawyers by August 22.

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