The Hobby Box UK has accused Fanatics employees of rigging box breaks and funneling high-value cards to specific dealers.
The most explosive claim?
A Fanatics employee allegedly told multiple breakers at the May 2025 London Card Show that he knew exactly who would pull a 1/1 Cristiano Ronaldo autograph—because the card was sitting in his hotel room.
The Hobby Box UK claims to have purchased video footage capturing this conversation.
At the London show, the Ronaldo box went to a well known UK breaker.
Later in the summer at The National in the USA, the same breaker allegedly confirmed the Fanatics employee gave him the box with the 1/1.
This isn't some random UK dealer.
The Hobby Box UK used to be business partners with one of the Fanatics employees he calls out.
He's posted details of the situation on Instagram and allegations of other shady behavior by specific Fanatics employees.
Matt Smith, who at the time was the Hobby Business Manager for Breakers for Fanatics, is the one accused of holding the Ronaldo box in his hotel.
Other 1/1 cards are alleged to have been funneled to well known UK breakers while Smith was employed.
Smith left Fanatics in October 2025, just a few months after the London Card Show.
He's now the Managing Director at Sports Cards Direct.
The London Card Show promoter posted a teary eyed video where he said:
“Going into the show I was told the 1/1 (Ronaldo) would be in a box, a random box. More information has come to light and I’ve addressed that with Topps.
What they do with that information is up to them. Me and my business have been dragged through the mud and I think it’s unjustified.”
It's believed the promoter spoke with the breaker who pulled the Ronaldo & knows the break was rigged.
Other UK based Fanatics employees are under fire as well.
Simon Rosenberg, the Retail Business Manager for the Fanatics store in Europe, is allegedly selling Topps cards on his personal eBay account.
The kicker?
One of the sets he was selling, all the cards were the same serial number.
91/99.
Seems odd.
Rosenberg is also accused of trying to sell a 1/1 Lewis Hamilton card that was exclusive to the Fanatics store.
Hamilton's appearance at the London Fanatics store grand opening drew thousands.
The store was the only place to buy the 2025 Lights Out: Formula 1 75th anniversary edition premium trading card set.
Check eBay now—many listings are third-party consigners in China selling the cards.
Instead of investigating, Fanatics threatened legal action and demanded The Hobby Box UK "cease all communication with our employees, officers or directors."
The Hobby Box UK has indicated this is just the beginning—that more information, more "tea," is coming.
The community is watching in real-time as this unfolds.
In recent years, influencers and breakers in the United States have faced multiple allegations of receiving loaded boxes.
>In 2022 social media was buzzing that Backyard Breaks was getting juiced cases from Panini America. - Sports Card Radio
>A month later in 2022 we posed a video that showed you could tell which 2021-22 Panini Crown Royale boxes had Kaboom case hit cards in them by looking at a specific code sequence on the front of the box. - YouTube
>At the 2023 National, influencer CardCollector2 pulled the biggest card out of the Topps promo packs. - YouTube
>In 2023 Fanatics owner Michael Rubin & soccer star Antoine Griezmann open a box many suspect was loaded - YouTube
>In 2024 it was discovered you could CT scan sports card boxes & see what is inside without opening it - YouTube
>In 2025, Fanatics breaker Filthbomb Breaks hit six 1/1 MLB Debut patches in the matter of days. Three coming on back-to-back-back boxes. - Sports Card Radio
Initial coverage of the story in the USA was sparse. Many top content creators are tied to Fanatics—either as breakers or retail partners—so they're limited in what they can say, if anything at all.
During the Professor Sports Card live stream on 12/17, he and AIH Sports discussed the situation and played the IG video clips of The Hobby Box UK telling the story. > Link to Segment
Everything depends on The Hobby Box UK's next move. Does he want to be a Topps partner? Maybe Topps can buy his silence by getting him in the direct program. But if he goes scorched earth, this story could dominate the holidays.
12/18 Update:
After tweeting about the Fanatics rigging allegations, I received five suspicious defensive responses.
Investigation revealed all five accounts were created in July-August 2025 and posted in eerily similar patterns.
Two accounts posted similar "sitting still" tweets at the exact same time on the same day they replied.
Two others posted about "strong teams" within the same hour.
These accounts also actively post positive replies to other sports card content.
Appears to be bots, AI, or people directed to post.
Looks like someone (Fanatics?) is actively trying to pump positive content and tamp down negative stories.
🚨Explosive DRAMA‼️
— Sports Card News (@SportsCardNews) December 16, 2025
The Hobby Box UK alleges that Fanatics employees have been rigging box breaks & deliberately funneling high-value cards to specific large dealers.
The most jaw-dropping claim?
That a Fanatics employee told not one, but TWO breakers at the London Card Show… pic.twitter.com/Yw29Tctr4c
One look at Rubinos from fanatics you can see the type of swindler he is. It starts at the top and swindles down. He is the worst. Of course instead of denying the claims he threatens to sue. Rather than Say” if this is true heads will roll.”He threatens. He’s got to make up all the money he lost on fanatics fest right? Straight up shiester.