Toronto [Canada], June 18 (ANI); Ivory Coast player Elye Wahi, who is currently featuring at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, was arrested on suspicion of fixing-related offences less than two weeks before the tournament, according to The Athletic.
According to the report, the 23-year-old is under active investigation to determine whether, while playing for French club OGC Nice, he deliberately picked up a yellow card in a Ligue 1 match against FC Metz on May 17.
The report added that Wahi was arrested by French police on May 29, shortly after scoring twice in a match against AS Saint-Étienne, a performance that helped Nice secure their Ligue 1 status.
He has subsequently travelled to the United States for the World Cup and started in Ivory Coast’s 1-0 win over Ecuador on Sunday in Philadelphia, hitting the bar in the second half. Ivory Coast’s next game is against Germany in Toronto on Saturday.
A spokesperson for the Marseille public prosecutor’s office told The Athletic on Tuesday, “We can confirm that a 23-year-old football player, competing in France’s Ligue 1, was arrested on May 29 as part of an investigation opened by the Marseille public prosecutor’s office into allegations of organised fraud, organised sports corruption, handling of proceeds of crime and money laundering. He was released after he was interviewed in police custody. The investigations remain ongoing. The football player is not a member of the French selection taking part in the World Cup.”
According to sources cited in the report, the investigation was triggered after the Ligue de Football Professionnel received alerts over suspicious betting patterns linked to Wahi receiving a booking in the Nice vs Metz match.
The alleged incident involved Wahi being shown a yellow card in the 35th minute for a late challenge on Metz defender Sadibou Sane.
He was suspended for a playoff match against Saint-Étienne due to the accumulation of yellow cards.
Wahi later returned to action, scoring twice and winning man of the match in the second leg, before being arrested by anti-corruption police. He has not been charged so far, and the investigation remains ongoing.
The forward, who switched international allegiance from the French youth teams to the Ivory Coast national football team earlier this year, has already featured at the World Cup, starting in their 1-0 win over Ecuador in Philadelphia.
He played 55 minutes in that match, hitting the crossbar before being substituted, with Ivory Coast set to face Germany in their next Group E fixture in Toronto.
Wahi’s career has included spells at Montpellier, Lens, Marseille, Eintracht Frankfurt, and a loan move to Nice, where he scored five goals in 14 Ligue 1 appearances. (ANI)
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