Elye Wahi Denied Entry to Canada Over Alleged Spot-Fixing Investigation

OTTAWA, Jun 18: Ivory Coast forward Elye Wahi has been denied entry into Canada and will miss his team’s upcoming FIFA World Cup group match against Germany in Toronto, the Ivorian Football Federation (FIF) confirmed.

The 23-year-old Nice striker was unable to obtain the required administrative authorization to enter Canadian territory and will remain in the United States until the Ivory Coast delegation returns, according to the FIF.

The development comes after reports that Wahi was arrested last month as part of an investigation into alleged spot-fixing in France’s Ligue 1. Authorities in Marseille confirmed the arrest of a 23-year-old Ligue 1 player, without naming Wahi, as part of a probe into allegations of organized fraud, sports corruption, handling criminal proceeds, and money laundering.

The French Professional Football League (LFP) said it had been alerted to an “unusually high volume” of bets involving a yellow card received by Wahi during Nice’s match against Metz in May. The league added that no disciplinary action had been taken at this stage as the investigation remains ongoing.

Spot-fixing involves deliberately influencing specific events within a match, such as bookings, to enable betting-related profits.

Wahi, who started Ivory Coast’s opening World Cup victory over Ecuador, has denied no wrongdoing publicly, while the FIF said it had not received any official notification of judicial or administrative proceedings against the player. The federation expressed its support for Wahi and reaffirmed that he remains an important member of the national team.

Ivory Coast will face Germany in Toronto before taking on Curacao in Philadelphia next Thursday.

Wahi is the second World Cup player to face entry issues in Canada, following Ghana midfielder Thomas Partey, who was unable to join his team due to ongoing criminal proceedings in the United Kingdom.