Ivory Coast international Elye Wahi, currently competing for his nation at the World Cup, was arrested on suspicion of match-fixing offences less than two weeks before the tournament began, reported by Givemesport. The 23-year-old forward is the subject of an active investigation by French authorities, though he has not been charged with any crime.
The probe seeks to establish whether Wahi, while playing for his former club Nice, deliberately earned a yellow card during a Ligue 1 fixture against Metz on May 17. The booking led to his suspension for a crucial relegation play-off match.
Suspicious booking under scrutiny
The incident in question occurred in the 35th minute of the match against Metz when Wahi received a yellow card for a late tackle on defender Sadibou Sane. This was his first booking of the season at that point, despite having committed another foul on full-back Bouna Sarr moments earlier without consequence. The yellow card meant Wahi was suspended for the first leg of Nice’s relegation play-off against Saint-Etienne on May 26, a match which Nice drew 0-0.
The French police investigation was initiated after the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) received multiple notifications of suspicious betting patterns related to the Nice versus Metz game. These patterns specifically involved wagers placed on Wahi to receive a yellow card during the match.
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Anti-corruption specialists within the French police arrested Wahi on May 29, just days after the play-off first leg. A spokesperson for the Marseille public prosecutor’s office, speaking to The Athletic, confirmed the arrest: “We can confirm that a 23-year-old football player, competing in France’s Ligue 1, was arrested on May 29 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.”
World Cup involvement continues
Despite the ongoing investigation, Wahi has remained an integral part of the Ivory Coast squad at the World Cup in the US this summer. He started for his country in their opening 1-0 victory over Ecuador in Philadelphia, even hitting the crossbar in the second half of that game. Ivory Coast’s next fixture is against Germany in Toronto on Saturday.
Following his suspension for the first leg of the relegation play-off, Wahi did feature in the second leg against Saint-Etienne. He proved instrumental, scoring two goals as Nice secured a decisive 4-1 victory to avoid relegation from Ligue 1. Wahi, who was born in France and represented them at youth level, switched his international allegiance to Ivory Coast in March this year.
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