Folarin Baloguns red-card reversal flagged by World Cup betting watchdog in bombshell
The Folarin Balogun situation just won’t go away.According to the Group of Copenhagen, an independent international gambling watchdog, the Balogun controversy, in which he was cited for a red card and then had it rescinded by a lone FIFA official, is one of several World Cup events that were flagged in a post-tournament report by the auditor.According to a report by The Athletic, the Group of Copenhagen has handed out seven “yellow notices” pertaining to the 104-match tournament, which attracted $240 billion in bets, per the group’s findings.The Group of Copenhagen, which is the sporting integrity arm of the Council of Europe and was established in 2016 to snuff out match-fixing, categorizes events and labels them with a color: Green (normal), yellow (slightly increased alert), orange (increased alert) or red (highest alert).One of the instances that drew the ire of the ombudsman was the infamous rescinding of Balogun’s red card ahead of Team USA’s match with Belgium in the Round of 16.It’s important to note that just because a situation has been flagged by the Group of Copenhagen doesn’t mean it is due to match-fixing or manipulation.According to the Group of Copenhagen, Polymarket allowed users to trade on whether or not Balogun would be allowed to play against Belgium.
The market was posted on the same day that the American striker was sent off against Bosnia-Herzegovina in the Round of 32.FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee eventually reversed the ban, allowing Balogun to play in the USMNT’s 4-1 loss to Belgium.Per the report, no other markets were posted for the other 14 players who were shown a red card at the World Cup.Balogun’s was the only ban to be overturned.The Group of Copenhagen has reportedly sent an official request for a written explanation to FIFA regarding the Balogun situation.The full report has yet to be released, but the Council of Europe posted a summary of its findings, and sources told The Athletic that three other events ...