Major League Soccer bans two former players for ‘extensive gambling’ on matches

Former Major League Soccer players Derrick Jones and Yaw Yeboah have been banned for life for gambling on matches, the league announced Monday.

Jones and Yeboah were placed on administrative leave in October pending a league review of potential rules violations. Jones, 29, most recently played for the Columbus Crew, appearing in 23 games across 2024 and 2025. Yeboah, 28, was a teammate of Jones’ with the Crew before he joined Los Angeles FC last year.

They were placed on leave after the league received suspicious betting alerts through its partners.

The MLS investigation uncovered “extensive gambling” by Jones and Yeboah over the 2024 and 2025 seasons, including on their own matches. During an October 2024 match, both players bet on Jones to get a yellow card, according to the investigation. Jones did, in fact, receive the card.

The investigation also concluded the players most likely shared inside information with other bettors.

“Major League Soccer remains steadfast in its commitment to match integrity,” Commissioner Don Garber said in a statement. “The League will continue to enforce its policies, enhance education efforts, and advocate for the elimination of yellow card wagering in all states to protect the integrity of our competition for clubs, players, and fans.”

In a statement, the Crew said it fully condemned the actions of Jones and Yeboah.

“The Crew — who strictly adhere to all MLS policies on educating and enforcing sports gambling regulations with team personnel — fully cooperated with the league since first learning about the inquiry regarding the players in question,” the statement read.

MLS has disciplined players for gambling before, suspending Sporting Kansas City’s Felipe Hernandez in 2021 and then terminating his contract in 2024 for multiple violations of the league’s betting policy.

Gambling, in particular prop bets, has been an issue for multiple North American sports leagues since sports betting was legalized.

Two Cleveland Guardians pitchers were charged last year and are set to face trial this year over allegations of pitch-rigging related to in-game prop bets and parlays.

In the NBA, former Toronto Raptors center Jontay Porter was banned for life in 2024 for violating the league’s betting rules. Porter was banned in part for disclosing information betters used on prop bets and parlays. (Last season, the NBA’s gambling partners agreed to no longer offer “under” prop bets on players either on 10-day or two-way contracts.)

The 2026 MLS season began last month and will conclude in November. The league will take a six-week break this summer for the World Cup.