Major League Soccer announced on Monday that Derrick Jones and Yaw Yeboah have been banned for life due to extensive gambling activities, including wagers on matches involving their own teams. The disciplinary action follows discoveries that the players placed bets during multiple games, with one notable example being a wager on Jones receiving a yellow card during a 2024 match, a prediction that came true. This ruling highlights the league’s zero-tolerance stance on gambling violations amid growing scrutiny.
Investigation Finds Widespread Betting Throughout 2024 and 2025
MLS began investigating after receiving suspicious betting alerts and hired a law firm to conduct a thorough review. Both Jones and Yeboah were placed on administrative leave in late October 2025 while the inquiry unfolded. The investigation concluded that throughout the 2024 and 2025 seasons, both players frequently bet on soccer games, including matches featuring their own teams, violating league policies.
In one instance,
“both players bet on Jones to draw a yellow card during an 19 October, 2024 match, which he received.”
Career Backgrounds of Derrick Jones and Yaw Yeboah
Jones and Yeboah shared a roster spot with Columbus Crew during the 2024 season. While Jones remained with the Crew in 2025, Yeboah transferred to Los Angeles FC, appearing in 17 games that year before mutually terminating his contract in January; he has since moved to play in China.
Derrick Jones, aged 28, was born in Ghana and moved to the United States as a teenager. He progressed through the Philadelphia Union’s youth system and has a career totaling 131 league appearances, including stints with Nashville SC, Houston Dynamo, Charlotte FC, and Columbus Crew.
Yaw Yeboah, also 28, hails from Accra, Ghana, and is a graduate of the Right to Dream academy. After signing with Manchester City in 2014 and completing several loan spells, he joined Wisła Kraków before transferring to Columbus Crew ahead of the 2022 season. Yeboah developed into a top left wing-back for the Crew, contributing to their MLS Cup victory in 2023.
Context of Gambling Enforcement in MLS
This decision follows earlier league actions concerning gambling. In 2021, Sporting Kansas City midfielder Felipe Hernàndez was suspended for placing bets on games, and his contract was terminated in 2024 after a second violation of gambling rules. The MLS continues to reinforce its efforts to preserve the integrity of the sport amid increasing concerns over gambling-related misconduct.
