Fraud at the Ballon d'Or involving winner Harry Kane? Police launch investigation
Not everything was apparently above board at the Ballon d’Or ceremony in London at the end of October. French police say they have launched an investigation.
The French specialist magazine France Football awarded the Ballon d'Or to Bayern Munich's Harry Kane. Police are investigating suspicious activity in the sports betting market surrounding the award.
An anonymous police source confirmed to The Athletic that twelve different accounts on "Polymarket", a US-based prediction market that uses cryptocurrencies, placed correct bets on the top five places. Rumours had emerged a few days earlier.
Each of the twelve accounts predicted the exact order: Kane ahead of Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid), Lamine Yamal, Rodri (both FC Barcelona) and Lionel Messi (Inter Miami). The bets carried a total stake of €250,000 and yielded an eventual net profit of €200,000. The contest between Kane and Mbappe was extremely close in the end.
Ballon d'Or: France Football also launch investigation
According to The Athletic, the organisers at France Football knew about suspicious activity on "Polymarket" before the gala. The magazine has since launched its own investigation and involved the French gambling regulator. "The integrity of the Ballon d'Or is an absolute priority for France Football," a spokesperson is quoted as saying in the report. "We take these allegations of results being leaked in advance and potentially criminal betting activity very seriously. Investigations are under way to establish the facts and determine who may be responsible."
Neither the police nor the organisers have provided further details while the investigation continues. It remains unclear when it will reach a conclusion.
Ballon d'Or leaks? Rules had been changed
Reports that the results of ballots completed by selected journalists emerged ahead of time contradict Pascal Ferre's recent statements. Shortly before the ceremony, the long-serving editor-in-chief of France Football told RMC Sport that, "since 2024", even the winners have no longer been informed of the result beforehand.
"All nominees are treated equally," Ferre explained. "After the era of Messi and Ronaldo, we changed the rules. To make it easier to keep the result secret, it was decided not to reveal the winner's name until the very last moment." The result, he said, is shared with "as few people as possible". "Then there are a few tricks and little ploys. My own trick was to leave fake rankings lying around the France Football newsroom to fuel speculation on social media — which always made me smile. At the moment, there are probably no more than five people who know the winner's name," he said.
In the past, word of who would ultimately win had repeatedly emerged before the respective ceremonies. Real Madrid even boycotted the 2024 gala, shortly before the rule change, after the club were informed that favourite Vinicius Junior would not win the Ballon d'Or.
