Ivory Coast's Wahi denied entry to Canada

Ivory Coast international Elye Wahi has been denied entry to Canada for his country's World Cup group game against Germany on Saturday. The Nice forward was reportedly , external arrested last month before the World Cup over alleged involvement in spot-fixing in Ligue 1. Wahi, 23 - who started Sunday's World Cup win over Ecuador – has been accused of deliberately earning a yellow card while playing for Nice against Metz in May. Spot-fixing is the practice of deliberately affecting match incidents in a way that allows people to profit through betting markets. A statement to the Athletic from the public prosecutor's office in Marseille confirmed a 23-year-old football player, competing in France's Ligue 1, was arrested, without naming Wahi. On Wednesday, Ligue de Football (LFP) confirmed they had been alerted to "an unusually high volume of bets placed on a warning involving the player Elye Wahi". The Ivory Coast's football federation (FIF) say they had not been told of any "judicial or administrative proceedings" against Wahi, but confirmed he had not been able to obtain authorisation to enter Canada. "The Ivorian Football Federation has taken note of the various articles and information published on this Wednesday, June 17, 2026, concerning the Ivorian international Elye Wahi," it said in a statement. "To date, the FIF has not been officially notified of any judicial or administrative proceedings involving him. …