Declan Hill

Journalist, academic. Expert on match-fixing, sports gambling, mafia, World Cup. Author of The Fix & The Insider's Guide to Match Fixing -

[Declan Hill @declan_hill]

Brilliant journalism by @phillysport
The line between the bookmakers & the sports leagues/athletes is far too thin for credibility.

[Philadelphia Inquirer Sports @phillysport]

Terry Thompson lost $1.5 million on bets he placed with FanDuel.

The company gave him VIP treatment — including a personalized video message from the Phillies' Bryce Harper.

[Declan Hill @declan_hill]

Meanwhile in the rest of sports. The line between betting and athletes gets thinner and thinner. :(

[David Payne Purdum @DavidPurdum]

Sportsbook sent a personalized video from Bryce Harper to VIP gambler who had lost $1.5 million.

By @Olympezqdbk

https://t.co/TXoTRoXuVX

[Declan Hill @declan_hill]

Interesting day. FIFA got X to block my account. Any one else had that experience?

[Declan Hill @declan_hill]

Very good point

[I Pray You're That Stupid @xerxes_master]

@declan_hill And now we have the White House doing double duty on trying to smear Claus for sending Balogun off. I don't sense we'll have much media support (not near enough anyway) for the referee like they would a player being targeted by that government administration.

[Ken Serné @Hup_Holland]

@declan_hill Several years ago I spoke with a FIFA accredited referee who officiated in MLS. The MLS did not like the way he called the rules tightly. (A lot of physical unskilled former college players.) They did not want him calling so many fouls. Eventually he was not retained.

[Declan Hill @declan_hill]

This is beyond eyebrow raising.
At this tournament, it is FIFA itself that seems to be running the match-fixing.
Welcome to Gianni Infantino’s FIFA.

[Declan Hill @declan_hill]

This is beyond eyebrow raising.
Welcome to Gianni Infantino’s FIFA.
At this tournament, it is FIFA itself that seems to be running the match-fixing.
For more on how to get a referee to fix a game... see
https://t.co/RlGBQztTDz
or https://t.co/k1hbU2bdZm

[Aaron Maté @aaronjmate]

I’m no expert, but this is just too pretty to rule out.

[Declan Hill @declan_hill]

The best quote about the FIFA bromance scandal is from Javier Tebas
“neither a mere anecdote or an isolated mistake. It is, quite simply, the tip of the iceberg of a governance model that has been undermining the credibility of FIFA... for many years.”
https://t.co/Onfwj16To1

[Declan Hill @declan_hill]

Ghanaian journalist Anas taped a FIFA referee who was to officiate the 2018 World Cup.
The ref was ready to sell a game for $500.
This is the level of professionalism in the FIFA refereeing world.
https://t.co/Onfwj16To1

[Declan Hill @declan_hill]

How to Referee a Fixed Match: FIFA and Gianni Infantino's Credibility Nightmare
More at
https://t.co/Bd5wOqNCZz on how to ref fixed matches...

[Declan Hill @declan_hill]

It’s not the fixing that is the problem. It is the perception of the fixing where FIFA has an enormous problem.
A reasonable person could look at half-a-dozen of the games in this World Cup tournament and have doubts.
https://t.co/Onfwj16To1
#FIFAWorldCup #fifaworldcup2026

[Minky Worden @MinkysHighjinks]

From Putin’s World Cup to the fake “FIFA Peace Prize” to the reversed US red card suspension, a thread on FIFA President Gianni Infantino caving to pressure, breaking @FIFAcom’s own rules and betraying #HumanRights to accommodate autocrats:
🧵
1. In 2013, FIFA secretary general Jérôme Valcke explained how the governing body of world football picks #WorldCup hosts: "Less democracy is sometimes better for organizing a World Cup... a very strong head of state who can decide, as maybe Putin can do in 2018... that is easier for us organizers."
Valcke’s strategy of cozying up to rights abusers outlived his tenure at FIFA:
https://t.co/n7ftWeurfO

2. The 2018 Russia World Cup was a vehicle for Vladimir Putin to project prestige while waging a massive crackdown on civil society and #LGBT people. FIFA had just published a landmark Human Rights Policy. The St Petersburg Stadium was built by forced laborers from North Korea, at least one of whom died. https://t.co/aS2JklYBVw. And @Josimar’s “The Slaves of St Petersburg”

3. Qatar 2022 was FIFA's most lucrative World Cup ever—and its deadliest. Migrant workers built $220 billion in stadiums and infrastructure, and thousands died preventable deaths. FIFA's own human rights committee concluded FIFA had "a responsibility" to compensate workers. FIFA shamefully reneged on plans to compensate families under pressure from Qatar, whose Airways reportedly supplies Gianni Infantino’s private jet.
https://t.co/L0ImviRWY3

4. FIFA's rules require human rights due diligence and rightsholders consultation before awarding a World Cup. For #SaudiArabia 2034, Gianni Infantino oversaw a scheme that effectively eliminated bidding+human rights due diligence, engineering a "sole bid"+handing the tournament to Saudi ruler Mohammed bin Salman.
https://t.co/HaL6cRZCSZ

5. At the 2025 US Club World Cup, FIFA obsequiously canceled its own anti-racism+anti-discrimination campaigns, in apparent deference to Trump’s anti-DEI policies. Homophobic chants followed in Atlanta. Infantino claimed there were "no incidents." FIFA had received 145+ human rights complaints. https://t.co/2vpIud9yV6

6. Gianni Infantino concocted a "FIFA Peace Prize” for Donald Trump. Human Rights Watch wrote to FIFA to ask:
—who were the nominees?
—what was the process?
—who were the judges?
—what were the criteria?
https://t.co/90w7BF8Wqc

We got no answer. FIFA's Peace Prize was cravenly created for a president disappointed he didn't win the real one: https://t.co/IZ1DldoTaT

7. As preparations for the 2026 World Cup advanced, US federal agents killed two Americans in Minneapolis. An asylum seeker took his children to the 2025 Club World Cup final—and was deported. @HRW documented that from Trump’s inauguration to March 2026, ICE arrested at least 167,000 people in the 11 US World Cup host cities. FIFA did not use its leverage to mitigate the US immigration crisis: https://t.co/tQV95B0oYX.

8. Ten African nations qualified for the World Cup but Trump imposed bans on travel to the US for citizens from 39 countries, including 26 in Africa.  Many African fans, journalists+family members were banned or had to post “visa bonds” of up to $15,000. FIFA’s response was to side with Trump. @HRW’s @VincentSimaOle: https://t.co/i5BY7llmIX

9. As World Cup preparations advanced in the US, Trump Administration ICE deaths surged. FIFA’s weak response to the US government’s cruel immigration crackdown squandered an opportunity to make it less deadly. https://t.co/AV5lLSXGgQ

10. The world should have been welcome at the 2026 FIFA World Cup; but from banning Somali referee Omar Artan to denying Iranian women fans visas, FIFA failed to defend affected people from Trump’s exclusionary policies:
https://t.co/Y5dkDbX895

11. FIFA needs fundamental change if it is to meaningfully protect the rights of fans, workers, journalists and athletes. The beautiful game deserves better than partnerships with ugly autocrats: https://t.co/rmq6iifgjW

[Declan Hill @declan_hill]

There is not a neutral person in the world that doesn't think that if the President of any other country were to call #FIFA @GianniInfantino he would tell them to get lost.
This is the end of Infantino's credibility.

[Bob Mackin @bobmackin]

Freese froze in CONCACAF's last stand.
Trump can't reverse this burgeoning Belgian blowout. #FIFAWorldCup

[Declan Hill @declan_hill]

Its the end of FIFA's credibility. How can we take them seriously again? Match-fixers welcome!

[Mick Wallace @wallacemick]

"Yes, I regularly discuss matters related to the FIFA World Cup with the President of the United States" - And when you were asked to suspend the Genocidal Israeli Regime from football, you said we shouldn't mix football + politics. You Infantino are a corrupt Hypocrite...

[Matt Stoller @matthewstoller]

I wanted America to win last night, but it was a miserable game. The Belgium team was angry and their brutal mockery of Trump is hilarious. https://t.co/hzqrRD1uZO

[Declan Hill @declan_hill]

It is the end of #FIFA credibility on sports integrity. Infantino has shown the world his true views on preserving the sport.

[Elbows up! 🇨🇦 @blakebatson]

@declan_hill You now have enough new material in FIFA to last you well into retirement. #MAGA #Trump #RedCard

[Declan Hill @declan_hill]

@DABailey62 No worries dear @DABailey62 Its why my eyebrows are raised very high about that Iranian goal.

[Declan Hill @declan_hill]

Like everyone else in the football world - I saw the Iran non-goal with real skepticism.
No proof but it does seem an odd - very convenient - decision.
#FIFAworldcup #iransoccer

[Declan Hill @declan_hill]

I never met a bettor who lost their bet because they were stupid... its always someone else's fault.

[David Payne Purdum @DavidPurdum]

The small percentage of bettors who can't act like adults and instead insist on harassing athletes are going to ruin it for the vast majority of us who can gamble responsibly while respecting the game.