COLUMBUS — Two former Columbus Crew players have received lifetime suspensions from playing in Major League Soccer (MLS), according to our media partners WBNS-10 TV.
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Derrick Jones and Yaw Yeboah, both of whom are not currently under contract with an MLS club, made bets on matches while they were players, according to league officials.
The violation of the league’s gambling policy led to the suspensions, our media partner reported.
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The MLS got a law firm to investigate receiving suspicious betting alerts.
Jones and Yeboah were placed on administrative leave during the investigation, WBNS-10 reported.
Investigators found that Jones and Yeboah allegedly participated in extensive gambling on soccer during the 2024 and 2025 seasons.
Some of the bets were reportedly made on their own team.
MLS officials said both players bet that Jones would get a yellow card during a match on Oct. 19, 2024, which he received.
Officials also determined that Jones and Yeboah likely shared confidential information with the other bettors about their intent to get yellow cards, according to our media partner.
However, no evidence suggests the bets affected the outcome of the match.
WBNS-10 received the following statement from the Columbus Crew on Monday:
“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. 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.
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. Given the nature of the investigation, the Club defers all comment on its results and discipline to the league.”
Jones played for the Crew from 2024 to 2025, while Yeboah played on the team from 2022 to 2024.
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