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Major League Soccer (MLS) has handed lifetime bans to Ghanaian international Yaw Yeboah and his former Columbus Crew teammate Derrick Jones for “extensive gambling,” the league announced on Monday.
Both players, who were placed on administrative leave in October while an investigation into suspicious betting was underway, are not currently signed with any MLS team.
MLS said its probe found that Yeboah and Jones engaged in extensive betting on soccer, including on games involving their own teams during the 2024 and 2025 seasons.
The league cited an example in which both players reportedly bet on Jones receiving a yellow card during an October 19, 2024, match, a yellow card he subsequently received.
MLS also said the players likely shared confidential information with other bettors about their plans to incur yellow cards, though no evidence suggested that these betting activities influenced the outcomes of any matches.
“After reviewing the results of the investigation, MLS concluded that the players engaged in extensive gambling on soccer, including on their own teams, during the 2024 and 2025 seasons.
“In one instance, both players bet on Jones to draw a yellow card during an October 19, 2024, match, which he received.
“MLS also determined that the players likely shared confidential information with other bettors about their intent to draw yellow cards.
“No evidence was identified that suggested any of these betting activities affected the outcome of a match,” MLS said, with commissioner Don Garber saying the league “remains steadfast in its commitment to match integrity.”
Yeboah, 28, earned four caps for Ghana, last appearing in 2021, and recently signed with Chinese club Qingdao Hainiu after beginning his career with Manchester City. He also had loan spells in France, Spain, and Belgium before joining MLS in 2022.
Jones, 29, born in Ghana but having represented the United States at under-23 level, previously played for Philadelphia Union, Nashville SC, Houston Dynamo, Charlotte FC, and Columbus Crew.
This disciplinary action adds MLS to a growing list of North American sports leagues grappling with gambling-related controversies, following similar cases in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and Major League Baseball.
