A group has alleged that there was match fixing at the recently-concluded 2026 World Cup won by Spain.
The Copenhagen Group has come forward with a number of concerns regarding possible match-fixing at the World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico. They have doubts about seven situations at the last World Cup and have approached FIFA with these concerns.
The red card handed South African midfielder Themba Zwane is mentioned in this context as are the high stakes on Spain defeat against Cape Verde.
Ferran Torres’s disallowed goal against Saudi Arabia—which the VAR took a very long time to decide—is also part of the investigation.
And the fact that bets could be placed here and there on the possible playing of Folarin Balogun —even before there was any talk of the possible annulment of his red card—is also part of the Copenhagen Group’s concerns.
However, FIFA had already issued a clear statement intended to demonstrate that nothing irregular occurred at this World Cup: “The FIFA Integrity Task Force, established to protect all FIFA competitions against threats related to match-fixing, has successfully completed its work regarding the FIFA World Cup 2026™ after monitoring the betting markets and on-field events in real-time during all 104 matches.”
