Ivory Coast forward arrested for alleged match fixing prior to World Cup | OneFootball

Ollie Whitmore, Chief football news reporter

A member of Ivory Coast’s 2026 World Cup squad was arrested on the grounds of alleged match-fixing offences within two weeks of the tournament getting underway, The Athletic has revealed.

Eintracht Frankfurt striker Elye Wahi, who spent the 2025/26 season on loan at Ligue 1 club Nice, was said by anonymous sources to be under an ongoing investigation dating back to a league meeting with Metz on the 17th of May.

The sources, who asked The Athletic to keep their identities private as they are not permitted to disclose the information publicly, revealed that it is alleged that the 23-year-old deliberately received a yellow card, per journalist Jacob Whitehead.

Wahi was then arrested by anti-corruption specialists within the French police on the 29th of May, after scoring a brace in Nice’s victory against St. Etienne that ultimately ensured his team’s safety from relegation.

A spokesperson 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 29th as part of an investigation opened by the Marseille public prosecutor’s office into allegations of organized fraud, organized 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.”

Wahi featured in 56 minutes of the Ivory Coast’s surprise 1-0 against Ecuador in their opening World Cup game in Group E without scoring, before he was replaced by substitute Ange-Yoan Bonny of Inter Milan.

The forward found out he had made the cut for his country’s 26-man squad on the 15th of May, the report by The Athletic added, two days prior to the incident of alleged match fixing against Metz.

The striker, who scored five goals and assisted once in 14 appearance for Nice this season, is set to travel with his squad to Canada for their second group stage match against World Cup debutants Curacao at 01:00 (BST) on Sunday.

Wahi has not yet publicly commented on the investigation, with no official charges having yet been filed against the 23-year-old.

FIFA is yet to respond to The Athletic’s request for comment on the ongoing investigation, which comes days after Canada barred former Villareal and Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey from entering the country to partake in Ghana’s opener with Panama, scheduled to kick off at midnight, while the 32-year-old faces rape allegations, which he strongly denies.