Ivory Coast forward Elye Wahi has been denied entry into Canada and will miss his team’s FIFA World Cup group match against Germany in Toronto, the Ivorian Football Federation confirmed on June 18, 2026. The 23-year-old Nice striker, arrested last month in an alleged spot-fixing case, could not obtain the required administrative authorization and will remain in the United States until the delegation returns, according to the FIF. Wahi started in Ivory Coast’s opening victory over Ecuador but now faces exclusion from the Saturday fixture as the probe continues without formal charges against him.
The FIF stated it had received no official notification of any judicial or administrative proceedings involving Wahi and expressed support for the player, who remains an important part of the national team. The Athletic reported that Wahi was arrested by anti-corruption specialists on May 29 following a Ligue 1 match against Metz on May 17, where he received a yellow card that drew an unusually high volume of bets. Marseille authorities confirmed the detention of a 23-year-old player in connection with organized fraud, sports corruption, handling criminal proceeds and money laundering, though the French Professional Football League has taken no disciplinary action while the investigation proceeds.
ESPN figures show Wahi scored five goals and provided one assist in 14 Ligue 1 appearances for Nice during the 2025-26 season on loan from Eintracht Frankfurt, where he had limited impact after transferring from Marseille. The forward, who switched international allegiance to Ivory Coast in 2026 and has three caps without a goal, hit the post during his 56-minute appearance in the Ecuador win, BBC Sport noted. This incident marks the second denial of Canadian entry for a 2026 World Cup participant after Ghana’s Thomas Partey was barred over unrelated criminal proceedings in the United Kingdom.
Spot-fixing, which centers on manipulating specific match events such as bookings to profit from bets without altering the overall result, prompted the LFP to alert monitoring partners after detecting suspicious betting patterns on Wahi’s card in the goalless draw with Metz. Historical precedents in French football include the 2014 arrests of Ligue 2 club presidents from Caen and Nimes over a suspected fixed match, according to accounts compiled by ESPN. The Marseille prosecutor’s office continues to handle the active case, with Wahi released after initial questioning and no charges filed to date.
Ivory Coast will proceed with its Group stage campaign against Germany without Wahi before facing Curacao in Philadelphia the following week, the federation’s schedule shows. The tournament, co-hosted by Canada, the United States and Mexico, has placed added scrutiny on border procedures for participating squads amid various legal and administrative issues. Wahi’s club career totals 52 goals in 167 matches across stints at Montpellier, Lens, Marseille, Frankfurt and Nice, FotMob data indicates.
The FIF reaffirmed that Wahi traveled with the squad to North America after his arrest and participated in the tournament opener, according to statements shared with multiple outlets including Arab Times. No updates on the French investigation’s timeline have emerged since the May 29 arrest, leaving the player’s immediate future with both club and country uncertain pending further developments. Canadian authorities have not publicly detailed the specific reasons for denying entry beyond the existence of the ongoing probe.
