Former rugby league player Ryan Tandy, who has already been fined for match-fixing, could now go to jail for lying to the Crime Commission about the NRL betting scandal.
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After magistrate Clare Farnan found Tandy guilty of one of three charges, she warned that ''the authorities are pretty clear that imprisonment should be full-time'' for lying under oath.
Ms Farnan found that the ex-NRL player had given false evidence in January to the NSW Crime Commission about his betting activities with jockey manager John Schell.
''Mr Tandy's evidence before me was not impressive,'' the magistrate said yesterday in the Downing Centre Local Court.
She said the 30-year-old would receive ''no sentence other than imprisonment''.
However, she has ordered that Tandy be assessed for an Intensive Correction Order, a sentencing option that replaced weekend detention including community service, strict supervision, drug testing and possible curfews.
If Tandy is found suitable for an ICO, Tandy may avoid going to jail.
In October, Tandy was found guilty of match-fixing and was fined $4000 and placed on a 12-month good behaviour bond for interfering with the outcome of a game between the Canterbury Bulldogs and the North Queensland Cowboys in August 2010.
He is appealing the decision.
Tandy was acquitted of two of the charges relating to evidence he gave the Crime Commission in its investigation of match-fixing.
During a two-week period in 2010, Tandy placed a number of bets with a professional punter named Damien Flower through Mr Schell.
When questioned by the Crime Commission when he had last used a bookmaker or ''any other person who was gambling'', Tandy replied that he couldn't give a time because ''it was years ago''. He conceded that sometimes ''mates'' put bets on for him and he named Michael Cook and former Dragons teammate Hassan Saleh.
When asked directly if Mr Schell was a mate, Tandy said no.
Ms Farnan rejected Tandy's evidence that he had forgotten about Mr Schell.
Tandy will learn his fate on Friday, January 13. AAP
