League moves decisively to protect competition integrity
Game Over! Two Ghanaian players Banned for life in shocking MLS betting scandal
MLS has banned Yaw Yeboah and Derrick Jones for life after both players placed bets on matches including games involving their own teams.
Major League Soccer MLS has issued lifetime suspensions to Yaw Yeboah & Derrick Jones after investigation found they had violated the league's gambling policy.
In official statement released Monday, the league confirmed that both players placed multiple bets on football matches during the 2024 and 2025 seasons including wagers involving their own teams.
At the time of the investigation, neither player was under contract with MLS club.
The league explained that the two player were found to have made a bet during a match between Columbus Crew & New York Red Bulls on 19 October 2024 predicting that Jones would receive a yellow card during the game. The event later happened during the match.
MLS clarified that the investigation did not find evidence that the betting influenced the result of the match. However the league believes the players likely shared confidential information with outside bettors regarding the planned yellow card.
The suspicious activity was detected by the league's integrity partners which led to both players being placed on administrative leave while the investigation was carried out.
MLS commissioner Don Garber stressed that protecting the integrity of the competition remains a top priority for the league.
At the time the case was investigated, Yaw Yeboah was playing for Los Angeles FC while Derrick Jones was still part of Columbus Crew, the club he helped win the MLS Cup in 2024.
Yeboah who also had a short spell with Lille in France , later left LAFC and moved to China in February after his contract was terminated. Jones meanwhile,has been without a club since the start of the year.
Following the case, Garber called for changes in betting markets related to MLS matches. He specifically mentioned the need to remove bets linked to yellow cards saying such markets could threaten the fairness of the competition.
MLS also confirmed it will increase education programs for players and continue to enforce strict rules against gambling on football matches.
