Former Columbus Crew players receive lifetime MLS ban for betting on their own games
A pair of former Columbus Crew players were handed down a lifetime ban from Major League Soccer (MLS) for engaging in “extensive gambling on soccer, including on their own teams.”
On March 9, MLS issued lifetime suspensions for Derrick Jones and Yaw Yeboah, neither of whom are currently on an MLS roster.
Jones played for the crew in the 2024 and 2025 seasons. Yeboah was on the team for three seasons, from 2022-2024.
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In a statement, MLS said it conducted an investigation after receiving suspicious betting alerts. The investigation led the league to conclude that both players bet on MLS games (including their own) during the 2024 and 2025 seasons, and likely shared confidential team information.
According to the release, in one instance, both players bet on Jones to draw a yellow card in an October, 2024 match, which he did.
The league said there’s no evidence that their betting impacted the outcomes of a match.
“The Columbus Crew are proud of the reputation we’ve established in MLS and global soccer that’s rooted in respect and integrity throughout our organization,” a statement from the team reads. “We fully condemn all actions and notions that aren’t aligned with these critical values for our Club and any individual’s activity contradicting the principles of fair competition that are pivotal to our team, league and sport.”
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