Seven Cases of 'Suspicious Betting' Detected at World Cup... FIFA Finds No Evidence of Manipulation

Seven Cases Detected in Analysis of All 104 Matches
FIFA Officially Announces “No Suspicious Activity Found”

During the 2026 North and Central America World Cup, a total of seven unusual betting market movements were detected. However, the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) announced investigation results indicating that no match-fixing or suspicious betting activity was confirmed.

The U.S. sports media outlet The Athletic reported on July 23 (local time) that the Copenhagen Group, an international sports match-fixing watchdog, had analyzed all 104 matches of this tournament and found seven betting instances that required further examination.

Spanish players are cheering while holding the trophy after winning the 2026 North and Central America World Cup. Photo by Yonhap News

For the first time in this World Cup, prediction markets, including cryptocurrency-based platforms such as Polymarket, were also monitored. The Copenhagen Group noted that prediction markets, where anonymity is ensured and transactions are difficult to trace, may become a new challenge for maintaining sports integrity in the future.

The most notable case involved bets surrounding the participation of U.S. national team forward Folarin Balogun. After Balogun was sent off in the match against Bosnia and Herzegovina, a betting market predicting his eligibility for the next match was created on Polymarket. Subsequently, FIFA postponed his one-game suspension, which changed the expected outcome, and no similar betting markets were established for other players sent off during the World Cup.

Other monitored cases included the incident involving Themba Zwane’s red card in the match between Mexico and South Africa; a large volume of bets placed on a draw in the Spain versus Cape Verde match; and the incident in the Spain–Saudi Arabia match where a goal was overturned following an extended VAR review.

Pularin Balogun, a forward for the United States national team who was embroiled in controversy over a disciplinary reprieve at the 2026 North and Central America World Cup. Photo by Yonhap News.

However, the Copenhagen Group clarified that these cases do not necessarily indicate match-fixing. Instances with abnormally fluctuating odds or where unusual information spread before or after games were classified as “yellow notices” requiring additional analysis, as they presented betting patterns deviating from the norm.

FIFA stated, based on the findings of its own integrity task force, “No suspicious betting activity or indications of match-fixing were confirmed during the tournament.” The investigation was carried out under a monitoring system involving FIFA, the Copenhagen Group, the Council of Europe, and other organizations.

The Copenhagen Group estimated that total global betting during this North and Central America World Cup reached approximately $240 billion (about 350 trillion won). This figure represents a significant increase compared to the 2022 Qatar World Cup, leading analysts to conclude that the importance of monitoring the betting market is growing as the scale of the tournament expands.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.