Kearyn Byron Baccus (born 5 September 1991) is a

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who most recently played as a

central midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for Macarthur FC in the A-League Men. Born in South Africa, he played as a youth international for Australia.

Club career

Baccus joined

Sydney FC Sydney Football Club, commonly known as Sydney FC, is a professional association football, soccer club based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. They compete in the top-tier men's league in Australia, the A-League Men. Established in 2004, ...

's youth set-up in 2008, and in 2010 moved to Europe where he joined French side

Le Mans Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...

' youth set-up, not before trialling at

Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...

and

Real Sociedad Real Sociedad de Fútbol, more commonly referred to as Real Sociedad ( ; ''Royal Society'') in English, and Erreala or Reala in Basque language, Basque, is a Spanish professional sports club in the city of San Sebastián, Donostia / San Sebastián, ...

in Spain. In 2012, Baccus joined A-League club Perth Glory on a short-term deal prior to his impending move to Italian outfit

Siena Siena ( , ; traditionally spelled Sienna in English; ) is a city in Tuscany, in central Italy, and the capital of the province of Siena. It is the twelfth most populated city in the region by number of inhabitants, with a population of 52,991 ...

. Though after a disappointing spell in Perth, due to injury and lack of fitness, Baccus chose to move back to Sydney, where he joined local side Blacktown City. Kearyn Baccus MCY

On 6 November 2014, Baccus joined Western Sydney Wanderers on an injury-replacement contract, followed by signing a deal to play in the 2015 Asian Champions League before becoming a full squad member for Seasons 2015–16 and 2016–17. In October 2018, Baccus signed with

Melbourne City FC Melbourne City Football Club is an Australian professional Association football, soccer club based in the South-Eastern Metropolitan Region, South-Eastern region of Melbourne, Victoria. They compete in the A-League Men, the Australian soccer ...

as an injury replacement player. On 5 July 2019 he signed a three-year deal with South African side Kaizer Chiefs. On 6 July 2022 he was announced to be playing for Australian A-League side Macarthur FC.

Personal life

Baccus was born in South Africa, and moved to Australia at a young age. He is the older brother of

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third level of the English football league system. The club was formed in 1897 as Mans ...

player Keanu Baccus.

Betting scandal and arrest

On 17 May 2024, Baccus and two Macarthur teammates were arrested and charged by

New South Wales Police Force The New South Wales Police Force is a law enforcement agency of the state of New South Wales, Australia, established in 1862. With more than 17,000 police officers, it is the largest police organisation in Australia, policing an area of 801,60 ...

for allegedly attempting to manipulate the number of yellow cards issued in four matches in the 2023–24 A-League Men. Police alleged that captain Ulises Dávila took instructions from a South American figure for the purpose of spot-fixing and paid Baccus and other players A$10,000 each to assist in accumulating yellow cards in the relevant games.

Honours

Macarthur *

Australia Cup The Australia Cup (currently known as the Hahn Australia Cup for sponsorship reasons) is the national association football, soccer single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in Australia. This annual competition is organised by Fo ...

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

References

External links

* 1991 births Living people Soccer players from Durban Soccer players from Sydney Men's association football defenders Australian men's soccer players Australia men's youth international soccer players South African men's soccer players South African emigrants to Australia Western Sydney Wanderers FC players Sydney FC players Melbourne City FC players Kaizer Chiefs F.C. players Macarthur FC players A-League Men players National Premier Leagues players Le Mans FC players Perth Glory FC players Blacktown City FC players South African Premier Division players Australian people of South African descent Sportspeople of South African descent 21st-century Australian sportsmen 21st-century South African sportsmen Sportspeople involved in betting scandals {{Australia-footy-midfielder-stub