Major League Soccer (MLS) has issued lifetime suspensions to Derrick Jones and Yaw Yeboah after an investigation found that both players violated the league’s gambling policy.
According to MLS, the investigation began after suspicious betting alerts were flagged by the league’s monitoring partners. The league then hired an external law firm to conduct a detailed probe into the matter. In October 2025, both players were placed on administrative leave while the investigation was ongoing.
Following a review of the findings, MLS concluded that Jones and Yeboah were involved in extensive betting on soccer matches during the 2024 and 2025 seasons, including wagers on games involving their own teams.
The league revealed that in one specific incident, both players placed a bet on Jones to receive a yellow card during an October 19, 2024 match. Jones was later booked in that game.
Despite the violations, MLS said there was no evidence that the betting activity influenced the outcome of any match. However, the league maintained that the actions still represented a serious breach of its gambling rules.
MLS Commissioner Don Garber emphasized the league’s commitment to protecting the integrity of the sport.
“Major League Soccer remains steadfast in its commitment to match integrity,” 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.”
Yaw Yeboah began his MLS career with Columbus Crew in 2022 and later played for LAFC during the 2025 season. Derrick Jones also had spells with several clubs in the league, including the Philadelphia Union, Nashville SC, Houston Dynamo FC, Charlotte FC, and Columbus Crew.
Both players were teammates at Columbus Crew during the 2024 MLS season.
At the time of the ruling, neither Yeboah nor Jones was under contract with any MLS club
