Ivory Coast Footballer Arrested Over Spot-Fixing Allegations

Elye Wahi

Ivory Coast Footballer Arrested Over Spot-Fixing Allegations

Less than two weeks before he started for Ivory Coast at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, forward Elye Wahi was reportedly arrested by French police as part of an ongoing investigation into match-fixing allegations. The 23-year-old striker is suspected of deliberately earning a yellow card while playing for Ligue 1 club Nice against Metz on May 17, an incident that has triggered an investigation into organized fraud, sports corruption, and money laundering.

According to a report by The Athletic, suspicious betting patterns were flagged to the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) regarding wagers placed on Wahi receiving a yellow card during the Nice-Metz fixture. The former RC Lens and Montpellier forward was indeed shown a caution in the 35th minute following a late challenge on Metz defender Sadibou Sane. The booking meant Wahi reached the suspension threshold, forcing him to miss the first leg of Nice’s relegation playoff against Saint-Etienne.

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Wahi was arrested by French police on May 29—ironically, immediately after he scored twice in Nice’s 4-1 victory over Saint-Etienne in the second leg, a performance that secured the club’s Ligue 1 status and earned him man of the match honours. A spokesperson for the Marseille public prosecutor’s office confirmed that a 23-year-old Ligue 1 footballer had been arrested as part of an investigation into allegations of “organized fraud, organized sports corruption, handling of proceeds of crime and money laundering.” The player was subsequently released after being interviewed in police custody and has not been charged with any offence, with the investigation remaining ongoing.

Despite the investigation, Wahi travelled to North America for the World Cup and started in Ivory Coast’s 1-0 Group E victory over Ecuador in Philadelphia, hitting the crossbar in the second half before being substituted. The forward, who represented France at youth level before switching allegiance to Ivory Coast earlier this year, was named in the Ivorian World Cup squad on May 15—just days before the match at the centre of the investigation. It remains unclear whether the ongoing case could affect Wahi’s eligibility to continue playing in the tournament, with Ivory Coast next facing Germany in Toronto on Saturday. FIFA has not commented on whether it was informed of Wahi’s arrest before his appearance against Ecuador.