The sanctions relate to bets placed by Muscat, Brebner and Moore on matches played by Hyundai A-League teams after notification from Betfair in recent weeks.

* Muscat placed one bet, incurring a loss of $100, on the outcome of one match not involving Melbourne Victory.

* Moore placed two bets, winning a total of $72, on the outcome of two matches not involving Queensland Roar.

* Brebner placed one bet, incurring a loss of $399.47, on the outcome of one match not involving Melbourne Victory.

* Brebner also placed one bet to win $4.21 on a draw or Chonburi victory, and one bet to win a total of $540 on the goal margin in a match played by Melbourne Victory against Chonburi in Thailand. Brebner was not part of the squad for this match and did not travel to Thailand.

“We are extremely disappointed in the actions of the players,” said FFA CEO, Ben Buckley.

“It is a clear breach of our Code of Conduct and we expect our players to be aware of their obligations.”

Buckley said that the players had not realised they had infringed the Code of Conduct but accepted full responsibility and apologised for their actions.

Under the integrity management agreement with Betfair, FFA is provided with relevant information related to football.

Details of the three players betting activity was supplied to FFA by Betfair’s integrity team resulting in FFA making its own inquiries before applying the sanctions.

Brebner has been with Victory for the past three seasons and only this week re-signed for the 2009/10 campaign.

Suspended for four matches, Brebner will miss Friday night's away clash with Newcastle at EnergyAustralia Stadium as well as next week's marquee clash with Sydney FC at Telstra Dome, with the other two games to be suspended pending any further offences.

Brebner was also fined $5000, $2000 of which is suspended, for betting on another football match not involving his club, while Victory skipper Kevin Muscat and Queensland Roar veteran Craig Moore have also been sanctioned.

Muscat lost $100 betting on a football game involving Queensland Roar.

Moore however did not gamble for or against the Roar in winning $72 thanks to two $600 bets, with both fined $5000, $2000 of which is suspended.

Having not travelled to Thailand for the Chonburi match because he was still recovering from the chronic groin injury that ruined his 2007/08 season, Brebner won $4.21 after spread betting on either a draw or win by the hosts, who prevailed 3-1.

He also collected another $540 for correctly picking the goal margin and lost just under $400 betting on another match not involving the Victory.

The 31-year-old has a history of gambling problems dating back to his playing days in his homeland, and was actually put up at Crown Towers, which is connected to Melbourne's Crown Casino, when the club first brought him to Australia for a trial.

Buckley also announced that, in conjunction with the Hyundai A-League clubs and the Australian Professional Footballers Association, FFA would immediately conduct an awareness campaign to ensure players are fully informed of their obligations and of the risks involved in gambling.

“These fines and the playing suspension should serve notice to all players that any form of betting by players on football matches has no place in football and will not be tolerated,” Buckley said.

Melbourne will not make any public comment on the matter until after the clash with the Jets, while Roar have said in a statement that they accept the penalties but claim Moore was unaware he was committing a breach of the code of conduct.

A statement added: "While the club is aware of the serious nature of the findings, Queensland Roar would like to underline the fact Craig did not bet on matches involving Queensland Roar.

"As such, the club accepts Craig’s assertions that he was unaware it was a breach of the Code of Conduct to bet on matches not involving Queensland Roar.

"The club would also like to make clear the sums of money involved in the bets were not significant."

The statement added: "The club supports Craig in his belief it was an honest mistake and he did not contact anyone involved to seek to influence the result of any matches.

"Craig has accepted responsibility for his actions and understands and fully supports the need for the Code of Conduct.

"Neither the club, nor Craig will be making any further comment on this matter."

Moore's punishment comes just weeks after he was sidelined following a testicular cancer scare, with the Socceroo having to undergo surgery that included the removal of one of his testicles.


More to follow...