Côte d’Ivoire striker Elye Wahi was reportedly arrested without being charged for alleged spot fixing offenses while playing for his French top-flight club, Nice, two weeks before the World Cup kicked off.
Wahi started Côte d’Ivoire’s opening win against Ecuador three days before news of this allegation was made public by The Athletic.
While Wahi was released after questioning, there is still thought to be an ongoing investigation from the Marseille public prosecutor’s office amid wider “allegations of organized fraud, organized sports corruption, handling of proceeds of crime and money laundering.”
What Has Elye Wahi Been Accused of?
The incident in question is thought to revolve around a yellow card Wahi received for Nice during a goalless league draw with Metz on May 17 which attracted suspicious betting patterns. The booking was the Ivorian striker’s fifth of the top-flight season, which thereby earned him a suspension for Nice’s following fixture, the first leg of a relegation playoff against Saint-Étienne. Wahi would return to score twice in the second leg as Nice’s top-flight status was preserved.
The Ligue de Football Professional (LFP) which governs French soccer’s domestic divisions confirmed to The Athletic that there had been “an unusual volume of bets relating to a booking involving the player Elye Wahi” in that fixture against Metz.
The full statement from the LFP read: “At this stage, and in view of the ongoing proceedings and the associated confidentiality requirements imposed on it by the police authorities, the LFP will not make any further comment and has not initiated any disciplinary proceedings. It reserves the right, however, to do so depending on how the investigations progress.
“The LFP reiterates that it remains fully committed to safeguarding the integrity of its competitions and that it will take the strongest possible action against any behavior likely to compromise it.”
Spot fixing, manipulating in-game events while in collaboration with an external party betting on the outcome, is strictly prohibited in professional soccer.
The Marseille public prosecutor’s office would not confirm the name of the individual under investigation, which The Athletic insists is Wahi. “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,” a spokesperson said.
“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.”
Who Is Elye Wahi?
Wahi has led an eventful career at the tender age of 23. After a number of controversies while coming through the French academy system, the sharp striker made his name with a 19-goal season for Montpellier in Ligue 1 as a teenager in 2022–23.
That stellar campaign would signal the start of a nomadic spell for Wahi, who has played for four different clubs across the last three years, amassing a swollen collective transfer fee of $97.1 million (€84.5 million).
The Paris native was called up by France at every age level between U16 and U23, appearing twice in the 2024 home Olympics for Thierry Henry’s roster. The legendary Arsenal striker has hailed Wahi’s talent as “special” in the past but he opted to switch allegiance to Côte d’Ivoire earlier this year.
What Next for Elye Wahi, Cote d’Ivoire?
Côte d’Ivoire is up against Germany on Saturday. It remains to be seen whether Wahi will be selected again—he fared reasonably well during his 56-minute outing against Ecuador—but there is the added complication of the fixture’s location.
The matchday two group game is set to be held in Toronto, forcing Wahi and his compatriots to cross the Canadian border.
While parallels have been quickly drawn to the case of Thomas Partey, who has been denied entry to Canada for Ghana’s World Cup opener against Panama, there are some notable differences. Partey has been charged with multiple counts of rape in an ongoing investigation. The former Villarreal midfielder has pleaded not guilty.
Wahi, by contrast, has not been charged after being questioned regarding a non-violent crime.
