FIFA World Cup Rigged? Plus, the Mitch McConnell and Matt Miller Mysteries With Anthony Dabbundo

Summary

Wait a Second... – “FIFA World Cup Rigged? Plus, the Mitch McConnell and Matt Miller Mysteries With Anthony Dabbundo”

Podcast: Wait a Second... (The Ringer)
Date: July 9, 2026
Hosts: Jason Concepcion, Tyler Parker, plus co-hosts and guest Danny Dabbundo (Ringer Gambling Show host)

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Overview

This episode dives deep into the swirling suspicions and controversies around the 2026 FIFA World Cup, particularly the accusation that the tournament—and FIFA itself—are “rigged.” The hosts, joined by gambling expert Danny Dabbundo, break down a series of recent suspicious decisions in the world’s biggest sporting event, especially the intervention of President Trump in overturning a US player’s suspension. The conversation broadens into a raucous exploration of sports corruption, the efficacy (or lack thereof) of modern VAR, historical match-fixing scandals, and how the betting world watches these events with both skepticism and awe.
In the latter portion (“Doomscroll”), the crew brings their trademark wit to bizarre contemporary scandals, including the Matt Miller commissioner controversy, crypto rug pulls, political rumor-mongering, and an outbreak of explosive diarrhea.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Salt Lake City Olympic Bribery Reference

[00:06 – 02:45]
The episode opens with a cold-case history of sports corruption: the Salt Lake City Olympics bid rigging, which set the thematic table for the main conversation about FIFA and credibility (or lack thereof).

Notable Quotes:

• “The best part is that Belgium tried to appeal it, but they couldn't because there is no actual appeals process in the first place.” — Danny Dabbundo [08:32]
• “Article 27…the translation—and I'll paraphrase—is just trust me, bro.” — Danny Dabbundo [07:41]

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2. The 2026 FIFA World Cup Red Card Scandal

[05:30 – 11:44]
The heart of the show: US star Folarin Balogun received a red card and suspension, only to have the ban mysteriously overturned after a call from President Trump to FIFA president Gianni Infantino. This unprecedented interference—never before seen since 1962—stirs accusations of rigging at the highest level.

Key Points:

• “Article 27” of FIFA’s Disciplinary Code used to suspend the ban—an almost-never-used provision.
• US benefits from intervention; Belgium’s attempt to appeal is denied due to “no process.”
• Hypothesis that Barron Trump, soccer enthusiast, may have prompted his father’s intervention.
• Public reactions split between relief (“not corruption when my team wins”) and outrage.

Notable Quotes:

• “Then all of a sudden out of nowhere this Article 27 shows up...The translation and I'll paraphrase is just trust me, bro.” — Danny Dabbundo [07:41]
• “Belgium tried to appeal it…FIFA said, Belgium, your appeal is invalid because there is no appeal.” — Danny Dabbundo [08:32]
• “It's ridiculous that he got to play in the game.” — Danny Dabbundo [10:05]
• “I don't think Trump knows anything about soccer, really…My theory is that D.C. United academy product Barron Trump is the one who said, ‘Dad, Balogun's got to play in the fucking game.’” — Jason Concepcion [10:09]

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3. Broader Patterns: VAR, Reffing, and the Consistency Debate

[14:58 – 25:21]
Expanding from the specific scandal, the group analyzes how VAR (Video Assistant Referee) decisions are inconsistently applied, fueling conspiracy theories. Is FIFA’s culture of political meddling seeping into match officiating? They offer examples from the current tournament, such as Argentina’s controversial VAR-won victory, and compare suspicious non-calls for star players.

Key Points:

• Perceived inconsistency in VAR applications; sometimes minute infractions 80 meters away rule out goals, sometimes blatant fouls get overlooked.
• Messi, as an iconic figure, may be subconsciously protected by officials.
• The opacity of the VAR process (no audio, no replays in the stadium) breeds even more doubt.
• Comparison with transparency practices in the English Premier League.

Notable Quotes:

• “They just let off the hook in the moment...Because everybody watching at home saw it. Nobody in the stadium sees it.” — Danny Dabbundo [23:22]
• “Wouldn't one answer here be to do what the Premier League does, which is to release the VAR audio?” — Jason Concepcion [26:25]

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4. Historical Match-Fixing: Football’s Long, Shady Past

[31:06 – 41:17]
The hosts turn to infamous past instances of rigging and manipulation, constructing a “tier-list” of World Cup scandal. They cover:

• South Africa’s pre-2010 friendlies, fixed by an international syndicate [32:35]
• 2010 qualifiers (Nigeria, Honduras) admitted to by the match fixer in his memoir [33:07]
• The notorious Argentina vs. Peru 1978 “fix”—grain bribes, secret deals, and geopolitical bargaining [36:04]
• The “Disgrace of Gijón” (1982): collusion for mutually beneficial results

Notable Quotes:

• “The guy got to write a biography of himself about how he fixed matches.” — Jason Concepcion [32:35]
• “I’m a betting man, I would bet money that that was definitely a little on the up and up.” — Danny Dabbundo on Argentina–Peru 1978 [38:21]

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5. The Gambling World’s Role in Exposing Corruption

[41:17 – 47:56]
Danny Dabbundo offers insights on how betting syndicates and oddsmakers sometimes spot fixes and strange market moves before authorities do, but legal and investigative inertia means that conclusive action is slow.

Key Points:

• Odd movement around draws or specific lines can indicate collusion.
• Social media and legalization have made suspicious activity more visible, but lawsuits and criminal cases lag behind.
• Sometimes, the “smart money” is a public watchdog—even while benefitting from the chaos.

Notable Quotes:

• “These conversations that we're having now...is not something that was going to happen 20, 30 years ago—because social media brings people together, but also because of legalization.” — Danny Dabbundo [44:08]
• “I think there's a world in which you could argue, incredibly argue, that the betting community is a kind of check on the legitimacy of sports.” — Jason Concepcion [41:17]

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6. FIFA Hosting Politics: The Future is (Also) Rigged

[48:05 – 51:13]
Discussion on the convoluted rotation rules for World Cup hosting; how FIFA manipulates rules to favor lucrative or friendly hosts.

Key Points:

• The “rotation” of continents is more loophole than rule; complex arrangements for 2030 (split between Spain, Portugal, Morocco—plus Argentina/Uruguay for the centenary) set the stage for US return in 2038.
• The process reflects FIFA’s habit of bending rules for money and political expediency.

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7. DOOMSCROLL: Bizarre Contemporary Scandals

[51:48 – 67:18]
A trademark “Wait a Second…” roundtable:

• The Matt Miller Mystery (ESPN draft analyst):
  • Allegations Miller ran 91 fantasy football leagues and mishandled funds meant for “charity;” no evidence of charity activity.
  • Sparked by his high-profile accident and GoFundMe.
  • “The Human Fund is more real.” — Danny Dabbundo [56:51]
• Mitch McConnell "Brain Dead" Rumor:
  • Speculation swirls on his health, fueled by right-wing figure Laura Loomer.
  • Hosts lampoon the lack of real evidence or transparency.
• Trump Meme Coin Rug Pull:
  • Trump launches a meme coin, which quickly crashes from $15B to $400M; millions lose money.
  • “Yes, it's a rug pull. Yes, I'm fleecing you.” — Jason Concepcion [61:34]
  • Panel highlights the almost open admission of the scam in the fine print.
• Outbreaks:
  • CDC warns on cyclosporiasis (explosive diarrhea) and flesh-eating worms, especially in Texas.
  • “If it eats flesh, I’m out.” — Unknown co-host [66:17]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Article 27... just trust me, bro.” — Danny Dabbundo [07:41]
• “I don't see corruption when it helps my team.” — Danny Dabbundo [09:26]
• “The world cup is rigged, right?” — Jason Concepcion [28:32]
• “They can do things that are heinous, that are obvious...and nobody will care because the minute the games kick off, this happens every four years.” — Danny Dabbundo [29:15]
• “The minute the games kick off, everybody just can't—they’re eating up the whole tournament.” — Jason Concepcion [29:21]
• “They don’t ever show anything controversial in the stadium. But everybody watching at home saw it.” — Danny Dabbundo [23:22]
• “The Human Fund is more real.” — Danny Dabbundo [56:51]
• “If it eats flesh, I’m out.” — Unknown co-host [66:17]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment/Topic | |----------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:06 – 02:45 | Olympic bribes intro, corrupt sports history | | 05:30 – 11:44 | 2026 World Cup red card scandal; Trump/Infantino/Balogun conspiracy | | 14:58 – 25:21 | VAR inconsistencies and on-field vs. off-field influence | | 31:06 – 41:17 | World Cup historical rigging (2010, 1978 Argentina, Disgrace of Gijón)| | 41:17 – 47:56 | Gambling’s role in catching corruption; suspicious lines | | 48:05 – 51:13 | FIFA hosting strategies and rule-bending for future World Cups | | 51:48 – 67:18 | Doomscroll: Matt Miller, McConnell, Trump meme coin, CDC outbreaks |

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Tone & Style

The episode is irreverent, analytical, and conspiratorial—classic "Wait a Second..." with rapid-fire banter, deadpan asides, and an eye for the absurd. The hosts mock the opacity and cartoonish corruption at the heart of world football, while mixing in gambling wisdom and cultural references (“just trust me, bro”; “The Human Fund is more real”).

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For Listeners Who Haven’t Tuned In

• This episode delivers a thorough, hilarious dissection of why so many people believe international sports—from FIFA to March Madness—aren’t played on a level field.
• It illustrates, via examples old and new, how governing bodies routinely bend, break, or invent rules for money, politics, or drama, and how fans, gamblers, and watchdogs respond—often by just enjoying the spectacle anyway.
• The wrap-up doomscroll brings the weird, from sports-commissioner scams to crypto collapses and mutant diseases—a fitting close to a show where nothing is too wild to be true.

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Summary by: “Wait a Second...” Superfan & Podcast Summarizer

Transcript

[Jason Concepcion]

The year is 1995.

[Tyler Parker]

Your name is Sonia Esomba, a student at American University in Washington, D.C. you major in communications, get average grades and

[Jason Concepcion]

basically keep to yourself. The only thing remarkable about you is your dad. His name is Rene.

[Tyler Parker]

He is the secretary General of the National Olympic Committees of Africa.

[Jason Concepcion]

Actually, scratch that.

[Tyler Parker]

There's a second remarkable thing about you. For some reason, the Salt Lake City Olympic Organizing Committee is paying your college tuition. The story starts in 1991. Salt Lake City had just lost its fourth Olympic bid in a row. But this time, the business leaders and lawyers who made up the bid committee learned how decisions really moved inside the ioc.

[Jason Concepcion]

So they changed their approach.

[Tyler Parker]

Later that same year, a scholarship fund quietly opened. On paper, it existed to bring promising young people from the developing world to American universities. In practice, those promising young people turned out to be the children and friends of members of the International olympic committee. Between 1993 and 1997, the fund spent more than $200,000 on you and the son of another committee member, part of over a million dollars that Salt Lake spread among the Olympic family in gifts, cash and free medical care. In June 1995 in Budapest, the IOC awarded Salt Lake City the 2002 Winter Games. You leave American University in the summer of 97. In November 1998, a local television station in Salt Lake City airs a leaked letter revealing the bid rigging scheme. A Swiss committee member tells reporters that 5 to 7% of the membership is open to taking bribes. The IOC, the U.S. olympic Committee, Salt Lake's own organizers and the FBI open investigations. The IOC expels or forces out 10 of its own members, the largest in its century of existence, and rewrites the rules for choosing a host city. The two men who built the fund are indicted on 15 federal counts. But in December 2003, a judge acquits them of everything, ruling that the government never proved its case.

[Jason Concepcion]

There was no evidence the two had

[Tyler Parker]

enriched themselves off the scheme, and payments had been recorded openly rather than being hidden. And what they did, the judge found, was certainly improper, but not criminal. The gifts were real, the felonies were not. This is. Wait a Second. Rigging the World Cup.

[Jason Concepcion]

Welcome to Wait a second. I am Jason Concepcion. That's Tyler Parker.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

What's up?

[Jason Concepcion]

And we are thrilled to welcome from Philadelphia, the host of the Ringer gambling show and overseer of all things Philadelphia within the Ringer universe, Danny Dimondo. How are you?

[Danny Dimondo]

I'm good. Did you clear that title with cr? I don't know. He might have beef with you after

[Jason Concepcion]

that no, no, no. He's like the godfather of all things Philadelphia, but, like, actively on the streets. You're like the street boss and he's like the acting boss.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

I think if Chris shows up, you know, okay, something is really wrong. You know what I mean? I think if Chris shows up to one of the meetings, you're like, it's sort of understood, Right? Okay. He's gonna have something to say, you know, we'll give him the hands.

[Jason Concepcion]

But you're there. You're there right now. You are in Philadelphia.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

It's only ground.

[Danny Dimondo]

Yes, it's been thrilling to be in Philadelphia during the World Cup. And also, you made a good point. Last Christmas, I walked into a bar and I just saw Chris Ryan there and I was like, all right, water is restored. She was bad brother, of course. But that's when I knew. I was like, all right, it's the holidays. Chris is in town. All things are right in the city.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

What a thrill to walk into a bar and see an in the wild cr.

[Jason Concepcion]

It would blow my mind, I think, if it happened to me and I've hung out with him.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

Yeah, no, absolutely. I think one of the reasons I would be so excited is because I've hung out with Chris at bars and I know it to be a really good time.

[Jason Concepcion]

It's a good time. It is fantastic.

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[Danny Dimondo]

Including equalizers, volleys.

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[Jason Concepcion]

here to talk about the World Cup. This is part two of a conversation we started briefly in the doom scroll with our colleague Jomi the Great Jomi the Great Jomi. The question was World cup rigged question mark and now we have to ask the question once again with with our chests a little bit more. Why? Because on July 1st US forward Fuller and Baligan Arsenal product was sent off in a World cup match against Bosnia Herzegovina. Straight red card that carried an automatic one match ban. Where we can get into whether that was the correct call later that week, President Trump then called FIFA president Gianni Infantino, he of the beautiful smooth head and asked him to by his own words and by various reporting about this, asked him to review the suspension after the red card, a call that both men have since confirmed on July 5. FIFA then suspended the ban for a one year probationary period, citing Article 27 of its Disciplinary code. The process and the reasoning behind this is very confusing.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

It should be said this Article 27 disciplinary code, it's a move they haven't made in a World cup since 1962.

[Jason Concepcion]

Yes, they have not done it since. I don't believe there have. This precedes red cards and yellow cards. I believe the first time this happened.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

Wait, sorry to pause this as a soccer doofus. Yeah, red cards and yellow cards are like a relatively modern invention somewhat.

[Jason Concepcion]

Yes, we will get into that. Trump said he asked for the review because he didn't think it was a foul, which is funny to me. And Baligan played in the game so certainly that looks like a rigged process to many. The USA then did crash out against Belgium, but first Dubundo rigged question mark.

[Danny Dimondo]

Look, I don't know how like when this first happened, I got asked by everybody I know who has ever been to law school, is currently a lawyer, is currently in law school, like what is the FIFA process for this? I got asked by people who have no intention of ever being lawyers who are like why is it that FIFA is like what is the process? And I said I don't know. And I don't think anybody else knows either. I thought originally there was a process. Then they said nope, no process, you can't appeal. And then all of a sudden out of Nowhere this Article 27 shows up. And if you read Article 27, the translation and I'll paraphrase is just trust me bro. Yeah, like that's it. They basically get to say whatever they want.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

It's good. We got it. It's good. We got it. You're. It'll be fine.

[Danny Dimondo]

So it's nothing to see here. And they give, like, no process. And the best part, and this is not Even forget Article 27. The best part is that Belgium tried to appeal it, right? But they couldn't because there is no actual appeals process in the first place.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

Oh, wow.

[Danny Dimondo]

So FIFA said, belgium, your appeal is invalid because there is no appeal.

[Jason Concepcion]

And in fact, the red card and suspension were not, like, wiped away due to a process. Again, that does not exist. It was suspended for a year. So one year from a couple days ago, it, I guess, is possible that Baligan could be suspended for international play. Is that how you're feeling for a game, Domondo?

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

Yeah.

[Danny Dimondo]

I don't know. Maybe the US will just appease FIFA and have him sit out a random match that the US that maybe he wouldn't have played in any way or something. I'm not quite sure. Like, oh, Flo Baligan will be serving his suspension against Cuba in November. International friendly. He will not be playing, or something of that nature. But, you know, it's so funny because in the moment, you're all like, yeah, like, I do not see corruption when it does not, when it helps my team, I'm fine with it. But now that we're a day removed and the US Is out of the tournament and we can acknowledge what a farce it is, it's kind of funny looking back. No wonder everybody else is pissed at us. No wonder everybody else is pissed at Trump. Other countries are using it as fuel.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

It makes total sense.

[Danny Dimondo]

Of course, they're 100% right. It's ridiculous that he got to play in the game.

[Jason Concepcion]

Now, here's my conspiracy theory. I don't think Trump knows anything about soccer, really, or football. My theory is that D.C. united Academy product Barron Trump is the one who said, dad, baling has got to play in the fucking game. That was a very, very soft red, which I agree. I mean, I think probably a yellow. I could see how it's a red. I would like to see that consistently called. What really kind of happened, Tyler, is like, Balagan didn't know the defender was there. They both arrived basically at the same spot. And his leg, like, the defender's leg kind of curled around in a way.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

Yeah, I saw the.

[Jason Concepcion]

So, like, sure, it could be a red, probably a yellow, whatever. But my theory is that it was Baron who said, dad, could you call your good friend and Peace Prize awarder. He of the smooth, beautiful head. He's gay, he's black, he's everything in the world. Johnny Infantino. And ask him, hey, buddy, could you just do something, invent something about this card and make that go away so we can have Balagan play in the game, which was honestly a winnable game on paper, going into it, I think

[Danny Dimondo]

we were the favorite.

[Jason Concepcion]

Yeah.

[Danny Dimondo]

We wouldn't know it if you watched the game. We were the favorite going in.

[Jason Concepcion]

Your thoughts on that theory to win out?

[Danny Dimondo]

It's not a bad one. Trump's relationship with soccer is interesting because he openly commented that he didn't really know how red cards worked.

[Jason Concepcion]

Yes, he did say that in the quote.

[Danny Dimondo]

But then last year, he was at the Club World cup final, and they asked him about soccer, and he started name dropping some guys. Right. He talked about how much he loves Pele and how great Pale was. They asked him who the goat of soccer was, and he, like, had an answer ready on the spot. And, like, he had, you know, he went to the Club World cup, which he didn't have to do. I think this was part of the FIFA Peace Prize lobbying. And he went there, and then, you know, he made news. So he stood on the stage, handed the trophy to Chelsea. Chelsea won the tournament at MetLife.

[Jason Concepcion]

Yeah.

[Danny Dimondo]

And then stood on the stage and stayed on.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

Right. He just didn't know to get off. Right.

[Danny Dimondo]

And photobombed it. So he clearly wanted to be in on the soccer action. He said. He talked about how much he enjoyed the match. So he, like, kind of knows soccer.

[Jason Concepcion]

Here is my.

[Danny Dimondo]

No, like, did he know who Flo Baligan was before? Zero chance, right?

[Jason Concepcion]

No chance.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

Yeah. It doesn't seem likely to me.

[Jason Concepcion]

No chance.

[Danny Dimondo]

Now, like, Baron probably plays a lot of FIFA. I mean, anybody who went to college, and he's currently in college, like, played a lot of FIFA. So he probably knows who all the guys are.

[Jason Concepcion]

I mean, again, a New York Red bull and a D.C. united Academy product. He's clearly passionate. I mean, you don't do that unless you're truly passionate about the game. I think any knowledge that Trump has comes from two places. One, Barron and two, New York City. Specifically, in Trump's heyday in the 70s, Pele famously was, after the peak of his playing career, starred for the New York cosmos in the 70s. And that was kind of like a cultural touchstone for soccer in America and was an important moment for soccer in America, even though it really kind of faded out. But I bet that Trump knows Pele for one, the fact that he was the star of the New York Cosmos. And two, because he was in the Sylvester Stallone and Michael caine film from 1980, Victory, in which a ragtag cast of POWs beats the Nazis in a soccer match.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

Right, right.

[Jason Concepcion]

I bet Trump loved that movie.

[Danny Dimondo]

It's probably true. There are very few good soccer movies. We've remarked about this over the years. Like, what is the best soccer movie? And there's none. It's kind of weird.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

I mean, the Big Is the Big Green. Are we like, out on the Big Green?

[Danny Dimondo]

Never did it for me.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

Never did it for me.

[Danny Dimondo]

See?

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

Yeah. Knowing nothing.

[Jason Concepcion]

I mean, you know, bend it like Beckham. No, she's the Man.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

She's the man.

[Jason Concepcion]

Okay. Interesting, I guess, kind of. What was the Will Ferrell one with

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

the little kids kicking and screaming? Kicking and screaming with Mike Ditka and Robert. Big Bobby D. Rest in peace to Big Bobby D there. What's the movie? The guy from Masters of Sex plays a coach. Like the Welsh coach.

[Danny Dimondo]

The damn United?

[Jason Concepcion]

Yeah, the Dam United. That was okay.

[Danny Dimondo]

It was okay.

[Jason Concepcion]

Yeah, that was okay. Okay.

[Danny Dimondo]

So

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

was it Welsh or was that way fucking off?

[Danny Dimondo]

It was English. It was English.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

Let me take that again. No, I'm playing.

[Jason Concepcion]

So here's my question. Let's extend this rigged questioning further because clearly the Ballingan call, a perfect call, was a rigged process. So clearly there is some amount of influence and political rigging that is going on within FIFA. This is to say nothing of the previous Sepplatter administration and all the various DOJ cases that went against various figures in FIFA at that time. So I guess the question really is, does that culture of corruption that we saw with Trump and Infantino in that call, does it seep onto the pitch at all? Earlier today? It's about 2pm earlier today, Argentina advanced, beating Egypt 3 2. Insane comeback. You know, Egypt giving up two late goals in brutal fashion. But it could have been 33 if a VAR call against Egypt had not taken away a goal that they scored. And the goal was, I think that, to be fair to the refs, I think the call by the letter of the law is correct. But what feels remarkable is that one, the offending play took place 80 meters from the goal where it then was scored, that the player who committed the foul, apparently, and then ran down the pitch, like, went 70 meters down, then performed a passion. So there was, like, you could call it one phase of play, but certainly it was extensive. And then when you look at that versus other similar plays that were not called you then have to wonder, var, is it being applied in a consistent way? And is the randomness somehow tactical? Not that FIFA's trying to get a certain outcome, but are they putting their thumb on the scale in certain matches? Your thoughts, De Mundo?

[Danny Dimondo]

It is certainly easy to make that case. It's not that hard because we have seen Messi get away with what I thought was worse than what Baligan did in the first match against Algeria.

[Jason Concepcion]

I think it was worse because he was facing the guy and, you know, it looked like he did it on purpose.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Right.

[Danny Dimondo]

And he saw exactly where his foot was going and he landed studs on the calf of an Algerian player. And, like, that's a red card in a lot of ways, especially with you apply force. So the question that I have to ask is if the. If the roles were reversed and Argentina scored a second goal to go up two nil on Egypt, and it's a coronation and let's say Messi happened to be on the end of it, is the VAR gonna buzz down?

[Jason Concepcion]

I think we overturn it. No way.

[Danny Dimondo]

I think it's probably not.

[Jason Concepcion]

Yeah. No way.

[Danny Dimondo]

But my question is, I don't know if it's FIFA or as much as just like, is the. Is the level of deity that Messi has reached now making him hard to ref?

[Jason Concepcion]

I think that there is.

[Danny Dimondo]

Look at, like, the Cape Verde players are, like, going out of their way to get pictures with this guy, and then they're all posting on Instagram and it's like the refs are all presumably fans of the sport or else they probably wouldn't be professional refs. So they are probably see him as a deity and they subconsciously, even if they, they want to be unbiased, like, how do you find refs that are going to be fair to. To a game where you have one man and that's by, you know, by transit property, his team.

[Jason Concepcion]

Yeah.

[Danny Dimondo]

Competing in his final World cup, trying to do this. Everybody has inside, you know, aligned incentives for. For Argentina to go as far as possible to make it to the final. And I don't know if FIFA's putting their thumb on the scale, but I guess they're. They're hiring refs who have a lot of experience of watching this guy be a. Be a literal God.

[Tyler Parker]

Yeah.

[Danny Dimondo]

So I think it's just impossible now. It has reached a next level.

[Jason Concepcion]

And to be fair to the World cup and FIFA, this is a tournament that is somewhat infamous for bad calls. Like inconsistent reffing is just part of international football, period. You could argue that the most famous play in World cup history is a handball that wasn't called like, that's. Everybody acknowledges that that was a bad call and it's like is still held up as like one of the legendary moments in, in international football.

[Danny Dimondo]

The hand of God is the most famous goal in soccer.

[Jason Concepcion]

It's not wrong, you know. And so I have a T shirt

[Danny Dimondo]

that I bought like with the hand up. Like they make money off of these things.

[Jason Concepcion]

And so this is not new. But my, the thing that I keep coming back to is like, is the way that VAR is being applied. Like if the standard is like, yes, the Egypt player pulled the shirt. It was a foul. Yeah, it was a foul. He pulled the shirt and there was a, I think honestly a pretty brief step on the foot. Like if you watch it full speed. But why doesn't the ref on the field call that? That's my other thing. Like var not only does the slow mo enhancement, the dramatic nature of some of these bang bang plays, but you're also disincentivizing the refs on the field to make calls in the moment. Like I just think if you're not going to call that and then a guy runs 80 meters down the field, makes a pass and another guy scores, probably it should stand if you're not. If the ref can't call that in the moment and doesn't see that as a foul. What do you your thoughts to Bundo?

[Danny Dimondo]

You know when, when you already have refs playing advantage. The refs have no incentive now.

[Jason Concepcion]

Yeah.

[Danny Dimondo]

To actually ref the game half the time if they think it might lead to a goal or they think there's a, there's a. It's going to disrupt the flow of the game to keep calling fouls and they can get the game play on and they know that if they do miss a blatant one because they're just letting the game flow and it leads to a goal, then that goal will be reviewed and we will, we will microscopically check everything in the 45 seconds before the goal and like, well, nope, you see you missed that shirt pull. No goal. Then the referees have less incentive to actually ref the game. Like why would you bother if I know I'm going to get bailed out. It's like calling off sides and they've changed the rule on that where like they play it out now because if the guy's offsides and you call him offsides, great. But if he's not, you took away a scoring chance. And if you keep your flag down and they Play it out. And then they realize after, while he was offside, you can always take the goal away. You can't add the goal back. So we've gotten into this weird thing where the refs are incentivized to not ref the game. And the ref, the refs are reffing the game from, you know, the VAR booth. Who knows where they are in the stadium?

[Jason Concepcion]

Yeah, I just think the process needs to be looked at. And I can't figure out, like, are they calling it tight or are they calling it loose? Like, that's the other thing. Like, what is. I mean, Paraguay, France is a great example, right? Where.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

Yeah, that was pretty wild.

[Jason Concepcion]

Paraguay is playing the most shithouse game.

[Danny Dimondo]

That is haram ball.

[Jason Concepcion]

That is clearly designed to like, get Mbappe to swing at somebody like, so they could get him sent off. And somehow at the end of the match, you look up and France has three yellow cars and Paraguay has zero. How can, how is this happening when we have the most, like, high tech cameras and slow mo replays ever in the history of the game at this moment?

[Danny Dimondo]

You know, my favorite part is I was at the match on Saturday. They never, ever show replays. FIFA refuse, like the stadium. They don't ever show anything in the stadium.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

And that's a, that's a FIFA. That's a consistent FIFA thing.

[Danny Dimondo]

I can't tell. I've only been to two matches and I was in Philly and like, there weren't replays. They showed replays of goals, right? Sure. But nothing that could be seen as controversial.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

Oh.

[Danny Dimondo]

And so like, there was a play and the Paraguayan defender, like, got fouled. And then when he went to the ground, clearly kicked his foot into Desiree Du A's shin. And I saw it from my seat all the way up and you know, the nosebleeds of the stadium, and I'm like, holy shit. He just kicked out at him. Like, that's a card. That's got to be something. And the ref just. Nothing happened. They never showed it in the stadium. If you show it in the stadium, everybody sees it and all of a sudden you have this huge controversy. But everybody watching at home saw it. Nobody in the stadium sees it. So nobody's on the ref now. The ref kind of gets a pass. They didn't show. They didn't show the guy elbowing Olise in the face. They didn't show the guy who took a swing at Mbappe. Nothing was shown on the replay in the stadium. So all of us were just like. Unless you were really Watching closely or right there in front of it, you didn't see it happen unless you saw it live. So, you know, while everybody's looking in slow motion and getting mad at the refs, nobody in the stadium knew. So the ref was just let off the hook in the moment. I don't think anybody in the stadium. It didn't feel like to me, and I was sitting with a lot of French fans. The French fans, to me, didn't seem that pissed about the lack of yellow. Maybe one or two.

[Jason Concepcion]

Yeah.

[Danny Dimondo]

But it wasn't to the level that when I went on my phone after the game, everybody on Twitter was like, that was the dirtiest performance I've ever seen in my life. And I was like, really? I didn't see any replays. I don't know. I had no idea.

[Jason Concepcion]

So what do you think the answer is here? Because clearly, I mean, the Trump call hangs over everything as a harbinger of an internal process within FIFA, as a governing body that controls the most popular sporting event in the world, that shows that this body is open to influence and influence in real time, in the moment. And when you add to that a VAR process that is, you know, it's kind of opaque. Yeah, I would say definitely for fouls.

[Danny Dimondo]

They've gotten the offside stuff pretty good now, and I know people don't like the rule, but they're damn good with the offsides.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

Now, can y' all explain to me the, like, actual sort of blow by blow mechanics of when the VAR does call down? Is it just like, you know, play has gone on, we're in the flow, and then just all of a sudden the official hears something in his little headset.

[Jason Concepcion]

Is that Jimundo? You want to explain it? Yes. That is basically how it works.

[Danny Dimondo]

So if there's a goal, they don't restart play until after the goal has been checked. They will hold the play and they'll put up on the screen, var check V A R check.

[Tyler Parker]

Right.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

But if it happens in the middle of. If it happens sort of in the middle of play, and they keep letting

[Danny Dimondo]

they play it out.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

Got it.

[Danny Dimondo]

This happened in the Premier League. There was actually a team that scored a goal in the period where the VAR was checking, and then the VAR buzzed down and said, we think there was a penalty at the other end of the pitch. And so the goal got taken off the board and the other team was granted a penalty. It was one of the wildest swings. It's very rare, obviously.

[Jason Concepcion]

Wouldn't one answer here debundo be to do what the Premier League does, which is to release the VAR audio, like the VAR conversation audio. So in the Premier League, if there is a particularly contentious call, they'll release the conversations that the VAR officials are having. Like, hey, I think there was a foul here. You need to take a look at that. Replay that again. Let's look at that other angle. Yes, there's contact here. And so you'll see.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

I like that a lot.

[Jason Concepcion]

You'll hear that conversation and they'll release that. It'll come out, like a day later, but it'll come out. And it goes a long way, I think, towards. You can still disagree with some of the decision, but you at least understand, like, how they arrived at the decision. I would love to see that here. And I don't think we ever will.

[Danny Dimondo]

No, we never will. No way. And did you see. I don't know if you saw this already, but they just released the official officials report for the upcoming game. France and Morocco.

[Jason Concepcion]

I have not.

[Danny Dimondo]

All of the refs are Argentinian, every single one of them official. The linesman, the var. So they're like, if France gets dodgy reffing tomorrow, wow. Or Thursday. You know, you could already see the stories being planted if, you know, France gets another rough refereeing job.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

Davundo, can I ask for clarification on something you said earlier in the conversation? And I might have just misheard something, but you said that Belgium, after FIFA announces, okay, we're suspending the ban and Baligan's going to play. You said that Belgium then went to FIFA to try to appeal.

[Jason Concepcion]

Yeah.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

Yes. Presumably after the United States had informally just appealed. There was a process for that. So there wasn't. And you said that they said to Belgium, oh, no, you can't appeal. We don't do that.

[Danny Dimondo]

But yes, yes, they denied their appeal. So that was, quote, inadmissible, which is crazy.

[Jason Concepcion]

It's crazy.

[Danny Dimondo]

Never had an appeal. It's like, no appeal.

[Jason Concepcion]

It was just.

[Danny Dimondo]

There's no paper trail, there's no record, there's no process. It's article 27. Just trust me, bro.

[Jason Concepcion]

So. So I think what we can say is this. The World cup is rigged, right?

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Sure.

Right.

[Danny Dimondo]

Like, we watch and nobody cares. That's the best part. We watch Two Day Story. I've had fun watching it. Tyler, you're not even a soccer guy you've loved.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

I've watched more soccer.

[Danny Dimondo]

And that's the. That's the bet FIFA makes every. Every four years. They can do things that are heinous, that are obvious. It's almost laughable and comical how corrupt they are. And nobody will care because the minute the games kick off, this happens every four years. They're gouging people for prices, the heat, the travel ban, visa issues. That's more American government. But like, you know, FIFA's not exactly greasing the skids there.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

Sure.

[Danny Dimondo]

And yet the minute the games kick off, everybody just can't. They're eating up the whole tournament.

[Jason Concepcion]

They can't wait.

[Danny Dimondo]

The soccer is so good. The fans, the crowds, all of it. The drama, I mean, that's the bet they make. They win every year.

[Jason Concepcion]

This is the power of sports washing a dynamic that we. You could probably trace back to like Roman Abramovich, the Russian oligarch, billionaire former owner of Chelsea, who wasn't. You didn't have to scratch that. Hard to figure out that got his money in pretty shady ways. And it is only continued. And I think you're gonna continue to see increasing interest from regimes, people like Trump to attach themselves to sporting events. Because just like de Mundo said, it's like once Erling Dahlin starts scoring and then the Norwegian team is doing like the rowing and it's like it's Mbappe and look, Neymar's still here. And it'. It becomes so exciting, it's hard not to get swept up in it. And at the same time, like you're gesturing at all the terrible things that are happening. And to debunk his point, like, we don't do any of them. We just saw open corruption. The president influencing the head of the

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

organizing body and announcing that he did it at a press conference in the Oval Office. Yeah.

[Jason Concepcion]

You just like saying, I don't even know what red cards are, but like, that guy should play. And we're just like, okay, sure.

[Danny Dimondo]

Yeah, sure. Flows in, baby. Go usa. Didn't work.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

I mean, you're, you're right about it being cartoonish.

[Danny Dimondo]

When you said Roman Abramovich, I thought you were gonna say the Roman Empire. You could, you could trace back to the Coliseum if you really wanted to.

[Jason Concepcion]

Yeah, for sure.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

Yes, you're right.

[Jason Concepcion]

For sure.

[Danny Dimondo]

Gladiator, you know?

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

Yeah.

[Jason Concepcion]

Let's run through a list of some of the famous rumored to be rigged matches in World cup history. Confirmed and rumored to be rigged. Let's start here. The S tier of of confirmed manipulation. 2010. The pre tournament friendlies heading into the South Africa World Cup. My favorite World Cup. Recent World cup. A confidential 44 page FIFA security report concluded that at least five and possibly more international friendlies played in the weeks before the 2010 event were fixed, most of them involving host South Africa. The syndicate was run by a convicted Singaporean match fixer named Wilson Raj Paramount through a front company Fever report on one game that was fixed was pretty blunt quote on the balance of probabilities. Yes, the listed matches were fixed. The referee at the center of this was Niger's Ibrahim chaibao. In a May 31, 2010 South Africa match, 50 to South Africa, he awarded three handball penalties, at least two that were clearly incorrect, and on and on. So that's like the first Prevar. Pre var. Right. Very important. Prevar 2010 qualifiers Nigeria and Honduras confirmed. Paramal claimed in his 2014 memoir Kelong Kings of his various match manipulation. The guy got to write a biography of himself about how he fixed matches.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

Incredible

[Jason Concepcion]

that he engineered that. He engineered qualification for both Nigeria and Honduras into the 2010 finals by rigging matches. Specifically Nigeria's November 14, 2009 qualifier against Kenya in Nairobi. This is his very own testimony. You can read the the article about this in The Guardian from 2014 titled I helped Honduras and Nigeria reach the 2010 World Cups. Claims match fixer.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

I'm okay with fixing matches for Nigeria because they, in my experience, my limited experience, have the coolest jerseys.

[Jason Concepcion]

I do like their. I do like.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Okay,

[Jason Concepcion]

2018 qualifier, South Africa versus Senegal confirmed. Rigged. Ghanaian referee Joseph Lamptey awarded a fictitious handball penalty. The ball had struck Kaladu Koulibaly's knee, not his hand. In the November 12, 2016 World cup qualifier between South Africa and Senegal. FIFA Bandit for Life. And it was upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Again, pre Var.

[Danny Dimondo]

It was a lot harder to get away with this stuff back in the day. A lot easier to get away with

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

it back in the day.

[Danny Dimondo]

Now we have another ref on the field, or at least overseeing the field.

[Tyler Parker]

That's it.

[Jason Concepcion]

They've had to become more subtle if you believe that this is still happening,

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

which I. I mean, I immediately think, like, yeah, ghost handballs. That's the way to do it.

[Jason Concepcion]

Well, I think, you know, there's a lot of talk about gambling in American sports and the corrosive effect. Various athletes and former athletes have been caught up in scandals, including Malik Beasley and others. And when I look at that, I think, first of all, I look at how stupid their schemes are and how long it took them to get caught. And my immediate thought is, and I'd love to get your take, Debundo, is there were smarter people getting away with this.

[Tyler Parker]

Maybe.

[Danny Dimondo]

Okay, maybe, you know, I think it just takes time.

[Jason Concepcion]

Sure.

[Danny Dimondo]

Because, you know, with the John Tay Porter stuff, Terry Rozier stuff, the Emmanuel Class A stuff, it is so niche in the sense that, like, who's betting tens of thousands of dollars on John Tay Porter, who's betting the maximum amount on Emmanuel Classe first pitch? Like, it's a little bit too niche. Like, the sports books are not dumb and they're not partnered with the leagues, so they see what we all see and like, they know they can spot like somebody who's just a degenerate, betting on every little thing that they want and somebody who's very clearly picking stuff. And what I found is the people who are doing these schemes win too much. If they were smart about it, they lose some to cover their tracks. They only want to win, and then they get caught really easily. I just think it takes time. I really do. I think, like Class A, it was what, a year and a half ago, two years ago that he was doing this while he was the best pitcher in the. In the best reliever in the American League. Like, it's. It's crazy because my conspiracy theory with the Class A thing is that there's more to it. There is no way that it was just those handful of bets. There had to be some other leverage involved. And we don't know what it is yet. We may never find out what the leverage was that got this all star closer making millions to all of a sudden throw one or two bad or ten bad pitches. But I do think, yes, there's more out there. Yes, there will continue to be more. But I think they're getting better at catching people, and that's why we're hearing about it more.

[Jason Concepcion]

Tier 2 serious allegations. No proof, but this is my Favorite example. Argentina 6 Peru Nil, 1978, second group stage. This is perhaps the most famous suspected fix in World cup history. Host Argentina, under the military junta of Jorge Rafael Videla, needed to beat Peru by four clear goals to reach the final ahead of Brazil. FIFA rejected Brazil's request for simultaneous kickoffs. Tyler, this is a.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

So that the.

[Jason Concepcion]

So that they wouldn't know.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

They wouldn't know how many.

[Jason Concepcion]

Exactly.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

They had to score. Yeah.

[Jason Concepcion]

So Argentina went in knowing that they needed.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

You see some of this now at the NBA cup, you know, they went

[Jason Concepcion]

in knowing exactly what they needed. So it's a circumstantial case. But per the Sunday Times and subsequent reporting, in the lead up to the game, to the match, Argentina shipped 35,000 tons of grain to Peru. And per historian David Yollop's account, some 50 million was alleged paid to high Peruvian officials as part of a bribe package. Videla was accompanied by Henry Kissinger, Secretary of State to Nixon, to the Peruvian dressing room before kickoff, though Kissinger then claims he has no recollection of being there. Former Peruvian senator Gennaro Ledesma alleges in Buenos Aires court that the fix was sealed by a deal to send 13 Peruvian dissidents to Argentina for imprisonment under Operation Condor de Bundo. Operation Condor, we covered it last week was a informal agreement between the right wing governments of various South American countries to hunt down and extradite dissidents in their own country and send them to their original country. So for instance, if I'm fleeing the junta in Chile and I go to Brazil, Brazil agreed. Hey, we'll get your guy and we'll send him back to you in exchange for various things.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

Sure.

[Jason Concepcion]

But like without any kind of court process, we'll just get them or kill him or get them and send them back to you. So under Operation Condor, it is alleged that this scheme took place. Thoughts about Argentina 6 Peru nil.

[Danny Dimondo]

We just had something somewhat similar to this with, with the Algeria Austria game.

[Jason Concepcion]

Yes.

[Danny Dimondo]

And you know, there's so much history in that too because back in 1982, the disgrace of Guillaume. Yes, the match wasn't fixed, but it was essentially fixed like nobody, no money was exchanged, no, no deals were made, no bets were placed, I'd imagine. But like the two teams were like, hey, you know, one, one nil. Good with you. And, and West Germany beat Austria 1 nil and knocked Algeria out of the World Cup. The disgrace of Guillon. Neither team tried to score after it was one nil. And we basically had a more entertaining version of that with Austria and Algeria knocking out Iran, agreeing, agreeing to a draw, but then not agreeing to a draw where Algeria scored a last minute goal and then Austria came down, the benches were arguing like we had a plan, we had a pack. So I feel like this is probably the exact same thing where Peru was like, yeah, we'll take, take a little something and this game doesn't mean anything to us and we'll help out our, our friends Argentina and screw over Brazil. I mean, that works. Who loses here? Brazil. But in this case, you know, I would bet, I'm a betting man, I would bet money. That, that was definitely, definitely a little. On the. To your point, on the up and up.

[Jason Concepcion]

To your point. Dibundo about the disgrace of Gijon, which gave us the rule that kickoffs in group matches have to be simultaneous to avoid the exact thing that you described, which is West Germany and Austria both agreeing. Hey, we can go through if this. If we win 1 nil and you lose, we both go through anyway because of the math. Let's just agree to do that. But to your point, Dabondo, I mean, wouldn't you bet on it if you knew that, if you knew it was happening? You're involved in those conversations. Don't you run to a phone somewhere and like, go get your bookie and be like, give me. Was Germany one over Austria nil?

[Danny Dimondo]

I mean, we talked about this on the Ringer gambling show. I told our listeners, I was like, if you're watching this and this result is about to happen, bet it the second the game ends because the line's going to move. Like you can get 2 to 1 on a draw where both teams are playing for a draw. Like that is. Those odds don't make sense. And then you just watch as the line moves. And then people just kept betting it and betting it and betting it. And the two games that needed draws for both teams to go through at this World cup, what a coincidence. They both ended in draws. What a shock. You know, and I have no inside information. I'm just looking at the, at the permutations on the standings. So I mean, I'm sure there was some, some bets placed, but I guess that one, you didn't know the incentives to the same extent. But we see this now, I mean, NBA community, the betting community in the NBA, people I follow who, who bet the NBA cup religiously. You'll see people betting like, oh, Boston needs to win by 35. Like, let me just throw a couple bucks on Boston -34 and a half, just in case they go out and win by 35 at crazy odds. And they're like, well, you know, they're doing the math. Everybody can kind of figure that out.

[Jason Concepcion]

I think there's a world in which you could argue, incredibly argue, that the Benning community is a kind of check on the legitimateness of.

[Danny Dimondo]

Oh, yes.

[Jason Concepcion]

Of sports.

[Tyler Parker]

Right.

[Jason Concepcion]

Because there's simply too much money on the line spread around too many groups of people for you to mess with that.

[Danny Dimondo]

There are multiple college basketball games. It hasn't come out yet. Yeah, there are multiple college basketball games played last year that within the next two years will come out of have being rigged. And I can tell you that based solely on the first half numbers, got ridiculous amounts. And we're talking like low major Division 1 schools. Most people haven't heard of. All of a sudden had a lot of money on first half line bets and to the point where the market was like didn't know what to do with them. And people who bet a lot of money on these things are flagging them and literally tweeting like that game, something's going on that's not normal, that doesn't happen. Something is fishy and I will bet money that that game ends up being one that gets cited in a future FBI indictment of some player that says that guy was fixing a game. I won't say the game but like it was, it was a pretty, pretty well known thing on the betting Twitter. People just saw it. People see it now. There's too much, there's too much money in the space. There's too much attention on it. People can see when these games are starting to get a little funky with the numbers.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

What was the, who were the, what was the school that was involved?

[Danny Dimondo]

I don't remember the school. I don't remember the school. It was a low major D1 game, people. The temple has already come out now, so I'll talk about them. Two years ago, the same thing was happening with temple first half lines where somebody was betting a lot of money against Temple in the first halves of their games and sure enough, they kept losing the first halves and multiple players have now been from that team have been involved in, you know, the, involved in legal trouble as a result of what happened in those games. So we're seeing, you start to see patterns emerge and people catch on very quickly.

[Jason Concepcion]

So my question based on that two part. One is how does the Benning community react to something like the Trump call and the various kind of chaos around VAR within the World cup, how does it respond to that? And two, if I was to like make you czar of all gambling in the world, like right now, how do you speed up that feedback loop? Like it shouldn't take half a year to a year to out a rigged game that people are losing and winning money on. It should happen much faster than that. So that two part question, one, how does the gambling community deal with the World cup now in the wake of the Trump call? And two, how would you fix all this? How would you make gambling an even stronger check on sports corruption?

[Danny Dimondo]

Yeah, I think it's two different questions. The first one, I'm not sure people care that much because you can't really predict ahead of time like when the VAR is going to screw up the Baligan thing. Like the betting odds didn't really move, of course, which is, you know, they were slight underdogs and they went to slight favorites. Like, it didn't really change much, at least in the eyes of the market that Baligan was playing. As far as the second one, I just don't know if it's possible because the legal process in this country is designed to be slow. Like, you can't. You can't just have a guy in cuffs, like, oh, that line moved three points out of hand. Like, cuff them. Like, who you cuffing? Right? You gotta fight. You gotta actually have some proof first. And, like, it takes time and everything's slow. So I think that's ultimately one of the biggest issues, is that we can see it happening, but proving it that it's happening is a whole different ballgame. And figuring out who knew what and who told who or who was involved. And then you almost have to, like, review the tape to, like. I'm sure the FBI like, watches these games and is like, identifying certain weird plays that happen and is like, well, was that guy on the take or was he like a low major D1 basketball player who had some bad plays? Like, you know, there's. It's hard to say. So I think this might just be the cost of doing business. And what I'll say is, though, these conversations that we're having now where we can literally say before a game even takes place, something weird is going on with that game is not something that was going to happen 20, 30 years ago because of social media bringing people together, but also because of legalization. Now it's all in the open. Not all, but mostly in the open, where you see these things happening and you're like, that is not right. So at least now we're flagging it ahead of time, even if we're not able to actually throw people behind bars as quickly. So I. I don't know that there's ever going to be a solution to that problem. But it's really interesting because like I said, we see it, we know it. I wasn't paying attention, but people are sending me tweets, like, did you see this, this game? I'm like, no, I'm not sitting at my screen watching low major D1 college hoops. But yeah, that does seem weird. And sure enough, when.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

When you. Because you talked about earlier, you referenced that this. The. The France Morocco game is going to be reft by three Argentinians before that gets announced or did the line move?

[Danny Dimondo]

No.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

Okay, got it. So it's not.

[Danny Dimondo]

That's just like. That's more like, you know, sure, people. People will have one eyebrow raised. Like, sure, you know, and if, if a decision goes against France earlier. If a VAR decision goes against France. Okay, for interesting.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

Would you compare the three Argentinian refs to like, oh, Scott Foster got put on this game six. Is that the same kind of thing or is it?

[Danny Dimondo]

Well, I think the interesting thing is that it's not just the refs on the field, but also the VAR reps.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

Yeah, okay, got it.

[Danny Dimondo]

So all of them are from the same. Usually you'll mix it. There'll be a mix of people, countries, nationalities. They'll have in the booth, like there was a game the other day and like the Varf, there was an Italian, an American and like a Spanish guy in the booth.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

Sure.

[Danny Dimondo]

Right. So you, you have different. It's just never the report that. I don't know. I. I didn't fact check this, but what was said is that that has never happened where there are six people from the same country solely in charge of refereeing one match. Because even today, like the. The three main refs were French for the Argentina Egypt game, but the Vars were not.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

Yeah.

[Danny Dimondo]

And so like you have all. Everybody's kind of subconsciously, maybe incentivized, even if they don't know it, and that's why there are already rules in place. FIFA does have some protocols. Like if USA plays Belgium, the ref for the game cannot be from North America or Europe. It has to be a separate confederations ref because they might be inherently biased. Obviously an American ref cannot ref an American game. A French ref cannot match ref a French game, etc as well. So there are some protocols, but not

[Jason Concepcion]

maybe enough as the smart money in the market. Like, what do you do with that? What do you do with that?

[Danny Dimondo]

Nothing.

[Jason Concepcion]

Nothing.

[Danny Dimondo]

I don't know.

[Jason Concepcion]

You just don't get involved, period.

[Danny Dimondo]

I think you could put your tinfoil hat on and then you start saying every game is rigged and then you don't even like sports anymore. You're just looking for conspiracy theories. Like, I know that goes against what this podcast is, but like, I love a good conspiracy theory, but I still want to enjoy sports and I don't want to be that crass about it, I guess. One more thing. So FIFA's hosting process used to have informal rule that they wanted to rotate between continents and then so that all five of the main continents that represent FIFA could get an opportunity to host the World cup, and they did this in 2010. South Africa hosted. 2014, South America hosted. In 2018, Europe hosted in 2022, Asia hosted. And in 2026, North America right now is hosting the World Cup. So it makes sense. And you could talk about Qatar getting the World cup and all the things that happened there. And you know, there's certainly some interesting things about that which we won't have to get into.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

Wait, you don't want to play soccer in 120 degree heat? That doesn't sound fun.

[Danny Dimondo]

So we'll just play in the winter, no big deal. Right in the middle of the season.

[Jason Concepcion]

I would also add that the several hundred, I think, or thousand deceased construction workers and minorities, human rights violations probably would complain about the process of that as well.

[Danny Dimondo]

Yes. So now we reboot the cycle and FIFA has said, well, we really want the Middle east and North America, USA to host more big events because they have the money, they have the infrastructure, et cetera. But they just did the last two World Cups in Asia and North America. So what do you do? You create this insanely convoluted 2030 system where the hosts of the 2030 World cup are Spain, Portugal and Morocco. So now you've knocked out Europe and Africa, they're hosting the next World Cup. But South America might say, hey, what about us? We got to get a World cup in here. So they said, okay, it's the 100 year anniversary of the World cup, so we're going to throw a few games in Argentina and Uruguay to start the tournament. So they're already going to be qualified. They'll play like one or two games, I think it is in their home countries and then they will fly across the sea to the main tournament in Spain, Portugal and Morocco. But what it does is it knocks out three continents to have hosted the World cup in 2030 so that they can go back to Saudi Arabia in 2034. And then once they've knocked out all those continents, who's left for the 2038 World Cup? But good old US event, baby. When they want to expand the tournament Even further to 64 teams, they can bring it back to America. They'll point to this year and say, look what a success it was. Everybody had a great time. The, the stadiums were packed, the, the heat was not great, but manageable. You know, we didn't have constantly games getting canceled. It was perfect. We need to do it in America again. So like the smart money says, we're hosting the World cup again in 12 years and it's solely because FIFA is just bending every rule. Article 27, just trust me, bro.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

We're back.

[Danny Dimondo]

So I've already. I'm already in the ticket lottery. Let's do it. 2038. I need to get tickets.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

This episode is brought to you by Boar's Head. What if we told you the taste of deep fried turkey is now available at your local deli? Well, Boar's Head just did that. Bursting with flavor, perfectly seasoned with that indulgent taste that usually means planning your whole day around it. Presenting the Friar's turkey breast only from Boar's Head, a backyard tradition now available behind the counter. Visit your local deli today. Discover the craftsmanship behind every bite. Boar's Head, committed to craft since 1905.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

All right. Welcome to Doom. Scroll to Bundo. All right. Matt Miller. It's been an eventful few weeks for ESPN NFL draft analyst Matt Miller. He was reportedly in a horrific car accident a few weeks back. He got his arm amputated because of that. That all seems to be very legit. The insult to all of this is. The Missouri attorney general announced last week it opened an investigation into Miller following several complaints regarding his use of funds as a fantasy football commissioner. After that, it came out that tons of people in fantasy leagues run by Miller said they didn't get their winnings. He was allegedly the commissioner in 91 leagues.

[Jason Concepcion]

I guess you could use Claude or something to, like, agentically.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

I mean, honestly, like, two is. Being a commissioner of two leagues is too many to me. Like, you.

[Jason Concepcion]

I want.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

I want your all. You know, you need to be. You need to be on the boards at all times. I don't need you splitting your time.

[Danny Dimondo]

I'm in two fantasy baseball leagues, one of which with ringer employee Dan Comer.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

Sure.

[Danny Dimondo]

And our editor in chief, Ben Glicksman. And Comer is, like, threatening to kick me out because I can't manage two teams at once. I'm not even the commissioner.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

Right.

[Danny Dimondo]

I'm managing two teams. I'm like, sorry, man. Like the World Cup. Like, I'm so busy. Like, I don't have time to. To put my lineup together. He's like, I don't know. A lot of people are complaining about you in the league. I'm like, damn. That's just being in the league. Commissioner of 91 leagues, that's just. That's like the. The biggest sham of all time.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

So he's doing this sham? Alleged, yes. He was allegedly the commissioner in 91 leagues. This happened on the fantasy app Sleeper. This was during the 2025 season. Sleeper has since banned him from the app after the accident. Loses his arm, Miller launches a GoFundMe it raises $51,000 before it's closed.

[Jason Concepcion]

Well, it seems like it was the GoFundMe that caused people who had allegedly been swindled in these various fantasy leagues to go, hey, that guy asking for money is the guy who owes me money. What's going on here?

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Right, right, right.

[Jason Concepcion]

And it's an open question right now. Missouri Attorney general's office will. We'll come back with a finding at some point, but it certainly seems as if there's certainly smoke.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

Yes.

[Jason Concepcion]

And we'll see if there's fire.

[Danny Dimondo]

Yes, there's more than smoke.

[Jason Concepcion]

Yeah.

[Danny Dimondo]

Okay, so if you were running 90, okay, first of all, what incentive does anybody have?

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

None.

[Danny Dimondo]

91.

[Jason Concepcion]

They just like have that dog in them. Like they have that they have a full time job animal in them and they just need, they just, you know, the action is the juice. They love the juice. Dibundo.

[Danny Dimondo]

I know a guy who plays in 25 fantasy baseball league. I went to college with him and like he is nuts, but he loves it. But again, for him, it's like he checks his teams. It's a process. He's not running these leagues and it's not like he's doing them for huge money. So my problem with this is he allegedly was doing this to raise money for charity. Right. Like a lot of the proceeds from these leagues would go to charity and then the rest would go to the winners. And that's great. But if this charity was really this successful at getting all this money and raising all of this profile and getting 91 in theory average 10 person per league, 91 leagues, 900 people are donating money to this charity every year to play fantasy football. Wouldn't there be some evidence somewhere in the last few years of this charity doing anything to any point to help any person?

[Jason Concepcion]

To your point, single evidence, like people

[Danny Dimondo]

who are who I know, who don't like they, they promote these things. It creates goodwill. People want to donate more.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

Oh, that wow.

[Danny Dimondo]

That charity run by that ESPN guy.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

The whole point is you want to draw attention to the charity so that

[Danny Dimondo]

more people become a charity, is to raise more money for charity and to help people. And there's no evidence of any charity money donating, helping, no pr, no Joplin, Missouri press release or local journalism article that says this charity, funded and founded by ESPN's Matt Miller, helped build a playground or commemorated a park bench or helped this person with their cancer treatments. There's nothing.

[Jason Concepcion]

So the anywhere in the ether Miller

[Danny Dimondo]

has said that is immediately like disqualifying.

[Jason Concepcion]

Miller has said that his 417 foundation was started in 2013 and inspired by his mother's work with low income preschoolers in Joplin, Missouri. However, public incorporation records show it was not formally founded until December 2018 and received a cease and desist letter about a year later and has never filed with the irs. So take that.

[Danny Dimondo]

The Human Fund is more real.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

The Human Fund, yes.

[Danny Dimondo]

So there's that and then there was the awful announcing piece that talked about the scouting lessons. Now you're preying on people who just want to know ball, which is terrible. People just want to know ball and they think they're learning from an ESPN guy and then they're not.

[Jason Concepcion]

It is allegedly terrible and we await more. Listen, it seems like the guy was busy, we'll put it that way.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

Real busy.

[Danny Dimondo]

Look, I'll say this too, like again, being in the gambling community and sort of in the fantasy ish community adjacent to that, like I had heard, and many people in this, in the space had heard rumblings about this long before the accident. And it was never enough of like calling everybody together to actually make it a story. Because at the end of the day, it's like sports media personality might be scamming people, is like not sure exactly going to lead the nightly news. But the inciting incident of this accident making national news has now brought everybody up. And I think that what people already knew and what had already been going around on Reddit threads and other places, there's way too much, way too much smoke for there not to be like a raging fire happening under the, under the hood here. And it's only a matter of time before something happens.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

All right, Mitch McConnell, he might be, quote, brain dead. This is coming from Laura Loomer. McConnell was reported unconscious on June 14 and rushed to the hospital. His health has obviously been a source of speculation for weeks. And then yesterday we're recording this on Tuesday, July 7th. So on July 6th, Loomer, who is deranged, I feel that we need to say

[Danny Dimondo]

I think she killed Joe Biden.

[Jason Concepcion]

She's legitimately an unhinged human being.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

She tweeted yesterday that a high level source close to the White House told her, quote, Mitch McConnell is officially brain dead. He's not coming back. Republicans in their mouthpieces have responded and a lot of these responses sound generally the same. They all say they spoke for around 20 minutes. They all say they talked about the situation in Iran, the stuff in Maine with Platner. The, you know, a couple, the same things get cited every time. I won't say that, but yeah,

[Jason Concepcion]

it's very reminiscent of Tom Keene Jr. Disappearing for four months. And it's like Republican House member Tom Keene Jr. Was kind of just missing from March until June. He did eventually return to the House floor and revealed he had been treated for depression. A very serious thing. But do you think, I mean, to me it's like if you spoke with Mitch for 20 minutes, can I just get like a selfie with a thumbs up or something? Like, you're good. Like just one of these.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

Oh, just show me a picture of him on the phone.

[Jason Concepcion]

Yeah, that's. That's all I need. Yeah, yeah. 20 minutes talking about Ukraine, NATO, Greenland and other things. It feels like a very. That's a pretty packed 20 minute call for a guy who just had a heart attack.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

Yeah, that's almost just. That's almost just mentioning the very thing and then moving on to mention the next thing. You're not really having much of a discussion there if you're talking about that many things.

[Jason Concepcion]

What's next?

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

It was reported this month that Trump made more than a billion dollars on his Trump meme coin when most of his investors lost money.

[Jason Concepcion]

What?

[Danny Dimondo]

Shocker. Yeah.

[Jason Concepcion]

Are you kidding?

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

This, yeah. Came as a real blow to everyone

[Jason Concepcion]

after the success of the Trump phone.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

That's what's. Yeah, that. A man whose ventures constantly go, well,

[Danny Dimondo]

the ringer never checked my resume, but whether I actually got a diploma from Trump University.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

The coin.

[Danny Dimondo]

Don't check that. HR, please.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

The coin was an instant success. $15 billion market market valuation. According to Coin market cap, it's now worth just 400 million. That's a 97% implosion. It's estimated about a million people lost money on the coin. This is a textbook rug pull. This has become a term in the crypto space used a lot. It's basically an exit scam where cryptocurrency developers artificially hype a coin, drain the project's funds or liquidity and then just vanish. So, yeah, it.

[Jason Concepcion]

Now I will say that it does appear that one way that the President is eluding legal ramifications for this is essentially by advertising that in the fine print of this coin that, yes, it's a rug pole. Yes, I'm fleecing you and then continuing with the fleece.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

I mean, nice or confusing, which is brilliant.

[Jason Concepcion]

It's a brilliant. It's a brilliant move. CNN said of that particular. Yes, it's a rug pull framing quote. Just because a meme coin isn't a scam doesn't make it A smart investment, which is true.

[Tyler Parker]

Just true.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

Wild stuff.

[Danny Dimondo]

I thankfully did not invest in this one. I was still trying to recover my losses from Hawk to a coin, which I got rugged on.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

Yeah, we all took a bath.

[Jason Concepcion]

You know, the thing with Hawk to a coin was, and this is, I agree, insensitive. I just kind of thought you fucking deserve it. Like if you're.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

Yeah, if you're putting some money into

[Jason Concepcion]

that, like, bro, I'm sorry, but if you invested in Hawk 2 a coin, like, I'm really sad that, like, you can't pay your car payment now or whatever, but come on, man.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

I mean, she seemed like she had it together though. You know,

[Danny Dimondo]

there's a. There's a. There's also. It was Taylor. Taylor coin. Another coin that went under and got on her. I don't think she knew. I don't think she knew what, what rug pulling was. So it's like, at what point does ignorance count as an excuse? Hawk to a coin might fit into that same thing. I don't know if people really realize what they were getting into.

[Jason Concepcion]

Do you dabble in crypto at all?

[Danny Dimondo]

No, No. I, I, the, the story I always tell is when I was a broke high school kid, I told my mom I wanted to buy a whole Bitcoin at $2,000. And my mom was. Didn't know what bitcoin was and said, no, you have no money. And I said, well, you loan me money. And she said, no, you're not buying bitcoin. I regret that. I regret not being more persuasive perhaps, but I did buy a little bit. But I've never invested in the other coin. I can't do it.

[Tyler Parker]

No, no, no.

[Danny Dimondo]

It's too much insanity. I was, I was a Wall street bets guy for like two weeks, three weeks, maybe 20, 21. It was a wild time to be alive. College student with. With a small amount of disposable income. But no, no crypto coins for me. Besides BTC does.

[Jason Concepcion]

It does appear that Bitcoin currently is at 63,000 per coin, so would have been a nice one coin would have been a nice investment, A tidy investment at the time.

[Danny Dimondo]

The fake ID that I purchased in college with bitcoin, probably not a good long term investment. Even if I got my money's worth for it in 2017.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

Well, that's one of those. The value goes down once you really drive it off the lot. Once you use that once, it's rough.

[Jason Concepcion]

Let's do the explosive diarrhea and then close on that one.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

Great. The CDC has been working to find the source of a parasitic illness that causes, quote, explosive watery diarrhea. Debundo. There's more than 400 cases of the sickness reported across 18 states. Cyclosporiasis. That's what this disease is called. It's typically spread through contaminated food or water. Apologies, you know, to cyclosporiasis. If I'm mispronouncing that,

[Danny Dimondo]

you gotta hand it to it. What is it?

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

Cyclosporiasis.

[Danny Dimondo]

You gotta hand it to him.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

According to the cdc, there's no immediate evidence of a single multi state outbreak that links all the cases

[Jason Concepcion]

except for the outbreak across multiple states. Except for that, yeah.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

There's no. We can't figure out how the outbreak, where the outbreak started, except for where the outbreak started. Investigators are working to identify potential clusters and sources of the illnesses in multiple states. But yeah, explosive watery diarrhea. I kind of thought all diarrhea was watery. And that's kind of what made it.

[Jason Concepcion]

It's good to. To kind of define that. This on top of the reemergence of the flesh eating worm in Texas and much of the states pertaining to livestock, particularly cattle, but not a great time for those of us who are germaphobes, I would say no.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

I mean, I don't want flesh eating anything around. If it eats flesh, I'm out.

[Jason Concepcion]

Yeah. So I think for the time being I'm going to avoid the states where there are outbreaks of explosive diarrhea and flesh eating worms.

[Danny Dimondo]

I did find it weird. I went to the doctor last week and they asked me if I had been to Texas in the last two months. And I thought to myself, that's an unusually specific thing. I was like, no, no, I haven't been to Texas in years. And they were like, okay. And they like marked. They like clicked a box on the computer. I said to myself, I wonder what that is. I never bothered to ask. Maybe it was this.

[Jason Concepcion]

It was.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

They ask. They ask you if you've been to another country some before sometimes.

[Danny Dimondo]

Right. Well, that one is more standard.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

I mean, Texas, Texas. Those people think it's a whole other country down there. Yeah.

[Danny Dimondo]

I missed the psychospora. Explosive diarrhea. Itis.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

Yeah, I mean, you know, I. I'm sure typhus is coming back soon.

[Jason Concepcion]

Debundo, thank you so much for joining us.

[Danny Dimondo]

Thank you for having me.

[Unknown Co-host (possibly a Ringer staff member)]

Thanks so much.

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