Elye Wahi, the Ivory Coast footballer who is playing at the 2026 World Cup, was arrested on suspicion of fixing offences less than two weeks before the tournament, The Athletic can reveal.
Sources with knowledge of events, who like others spoke anonymously as they were not authorised to do so publicly, confirmed the 23-year-old is the subject of an active investigation, which is seeking to establish whether Wahi, while playing for his club side Nice, deliberately earned a yellow card against Metz on May 17.
Wahi was subsequently arrested by French police on May 29, immediately after starring with two goals in a win over Saint-Etienne that kept Nice in Ligue 1, France’s top division.
He has subsequently travelled to the United States for the World Cup and started in Ivory Coast’s 1-0 over Ecuador on Sunday in Philadelphia, hitting the bar in the second half. Ivory Coast’s next game is against Germany in Toronto on Saturday.
A spokesperson for the Marseille public prosecutor’s office told The Athletic on Tuesday: “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.”
The Athletic has approached Wahi, Ivory Coast and FIFA for comment.
Wahi played in Ivory Coast’s opening game of the tournament on Sunday. (Al Bello / Getty Images)
According to multiple sources with knowledge of the case, who spoke anonymously so that they could discuss the allegations candidly, the probe began after the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP), the governing body that runs the domestic game in France, received several notifications of suspicious betting patterns in Nice’s Ligue 1 fixture against Metz, involving wagers on Wahi to receive a yellow card.
The practice of manipulating events within a game is known as spot-fixing.
Following The Athletic’s story, the LFP confirmed they had been alerted to “an unusual volume of bets relating to a booking involving the player Elye Wahi.”
A statement on Wednesday 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 behaviour likely to compromise it.”
The Athletic reported earlier this month that two players set to appear at the World Cup had been reported for suspected fixing offences, one of whom was Wahi, who was reported to the French Football Federation.
Wahi was included in Ivory Coast’s World Cup squad on May 15, four days before the Metz fixture.
In that match, Wahi received a yellow card in the 35th minute after a late tackle on Metz defender Sadibou Sane. He had previously committed a foul two minutes earlier, when sliding in on full-back Bouna Sarr, though that challenge did not result in a caution.
Following that booking, Wahi was suspended for the first leg of Nice’s relegation play-off against Saint-Etienne on May 26, having picked up five yellow cards over the course of the Ligue 1 season. With Wahi watching on from the stands, Nice drew 0-0 away from home.
Wahi returned to the starting line-up in the second leg three days later — starring in a 4-1 home victory in which he scored two goals and was named man of the match.
He was subsequently arrested by anti-corruption specialists in the French police.
Wahi has not been charged with any crime as the investigation continues and subsequently travelled to North America for the World Cup.
Wahi was arrested after being named man of the match in Nice’s relegation play-off second-leg against Saint-Etienne in May. (Valery Hache/AFP via Getty Images)
The striker previously represented France at youth level before switching allegiance to the Ivory Coast in March this year.
Wahi played 55 minutes at striker against Ecuador, linking up well with man of the match Yan Diomande before hitting the bar two minutes before his substitution. He was replaced by Inter Milan forward Ange Yoan-Bonny, with Manchester United’s Amad Diallo scoring a 90th-minute winner.
FIFA did not respond when asked if it was aware of Wahi’s arrest prior to the striker playing on Sunday or whether the arrest would affect Wahi’s eligibility to play or to travel.
Wahi is due to travel to Canada for the Ivory Coast’s match in Toronto on Saturday against Group E leaders Germany. Canada this week denied entry to Ghana’s Thomas Partey for reasons related to rape charges against him in the UK, which he strongly denies.
Born on the outskirts of Paris in 2003, Wahi originally spent time at the Caen academy before breaking into Ligue 1 with Montpellier in the 2020-21 season. He subsequently played for fellow French sides Lens and Marseille before joining Bundesliga team Eintracht Frankfurt at the start of last season.
After a goalless first half of the season in Germany, he joined Nice on loan in January, helping keep the club in Ligue 1 with five goals in 14 league appearances.
