The 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America has been rocked by fresh off-field controversy, as Ivorian international forward Elye Wahi has been barred from entering Canada for his nation’s critical Group Stage match against Germany this Saturday. The 23-year-old Nice attacker, who started in the Elephants’ opening tournament win over Ecuador, is currently entangled in a French domestic investigation into alleged spot-fixing in Ligue 1, marking the second time a World Cup participant has been denied Canadian entry over ongoing legal issues in this edition of the tournament.
Reports first emerged last month that Wahi was taken into police custody ahead of the World Cup, with accusations that he intentionally received a yellow card during a May 2025 Ligue 1 fixture between Nice and Metz. Spot-fixing, a form of match manipulation that targets specific in-game events rather than the final result, allows corrupt actors to profit from manipulated betting markets; in this case, the fifth yellow card of Wahi’s 2025-26 season triggered an automatic suspension for the first leg of Nice’s relegation play-off against Saint-Étienne on 26 May. The first leg ended in a goalless draw, with Wahi returning for the second leg to score twice in a 4-1 victory that secured Nice’s spot in France’s top flight for the following season.
French judicial authorities have confirmed the broad outlines of the investigation without explicitly naming Wahi. A spokesperson for the Marseille Public Prosecutor’s Office told The Athletic that a 23-year-old Ligue 1 player was arrested as part of a probe into organized fraud, organized sports corruption, criminal proceeds handling, and money laundering. Following questioning in police custody, the player was released, with investigations still ongoing as of the tournament’s opening week.
The French Football League (LFP) later confirmed this week that it had been alerted to “an unusually high volume of bets placed on a warning [yellow card] involving the player Elye Wahi.” In an official statement, the governing body of French professional football noted that it would refrain from further public comment amid the active investigation and ongoing confidentiality requirements ordered by law enforcement, and that no disciplinary proceedings have been opened to date. The LFP added, however, that it reserves the right to take action as the probe progresses, and reaffirmed its commitment to protecting the integrity of French club competitions: “it will act with the utmost firmness against any behaviour that could compromise it.”
The Ivorian Football Federation (FIF), which confirmed Wahi’s entry denial in an official statement released June 17, said it has not received formal notification of any judicial or administrative proceedings against the player. “To date, the FIF has not been officially notified of any judicial or administrative proceedings involving him,” the statement read. “In this particularly delicate period, the FIF extends all its support to the player and reaffirms its confidence in him. Elye Wahi remains an important element of the Ivory Coast national team.”
The federation confirmed that Wahi will not travel with the squad to Toronto for the Germany fixture, after failing to secure the required entry authorization from Canadian authorities. Wahi will remain in the United States until the Elephants conclude their Group Stage matches, which include a subsequent fixture against Curacao in Philadelphia next Thursday. BBC Sport has reached out to both Wahi’s representatives and FIFA for additional comment on the matter, with no formal response released as of publication.
Wahi’s entry denial comes just days after another high-profile World Cup participant was barred from entering Canada: Ghana star Thomas Partey, the former Arsenal midfielder, was refused a visa after he failed to disclose ongoing criminal proceedings in the UK, where he faces seven charges of rape and one count of sexual assault related to allegations from four separate women between 2020 and 2022. Partey has pleaded not guilty to all charges and is scheduled to stand trial in 2027. A last-ditch appeal by the Ghanaian government for a special temporary entry waiver for the Panama match was rejected by Canada’s federal court in Ottawa, leaving Partey unable to participate in Ghana’s opening tournament win.