Did FIFA Miss It? Experts Flag Seven Suspicious Betting Episodes at 2026 World Cup

^{Folarin Balogun, U.S. striker}

The Copenhagen Group — a network of organizations and experts focused on detecting and preventing match manipulation in sports — has identified seven cases of unusual betting activity during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, The Athletic reports.

All of the cases were assigned a yellow warning level. This means experts identified several potential red flags, including unexplained odds movements, but found no evidence that any matches were manipulated.

The flagged incidents included:

• the red card shown to South Africa midfielder Themba Zwane in the 84th minute of the match against Mexico;
• total bets worth $4.8 million placed on Polymarket on Spain failing to beat Cape Verde. The match ended in a 0-0 draw;
• a three-and-a-half-minute VAR review before Ferran Torres’ goal was ruled out in Spain’s match against Saudi Arabia;
• a Polymarket market asking whether United States striker Folarin Balogun would play against Belgium.

The final market was created on July 2 — the same day Balogun was sent off during the match against Bosnia and Herzegovina. FIFA officially confirmed the suspension of his ban only on July 5. At the same time, no similar markets were created for the other 14 players who received red cards during the tournament.

The Copenhagen Group’s findings contradict a recent statement from FIFA’s integrity task force. The organization said it had found no suspicious betting activity or signs of match manipulation in any of the tournament’s 104 matches.

The Copenhagen Group also estimated the total betting volume on World Cup 2026 matches. According to its data, it reached $240 billion — roughly double the amount recorded during the 2022 World Cup.