Ivory Coast striker Eli Wahi, who is under investigation for match-fixing, will not be allowed to travel to Canada for his team’s next game. world cup The Ivory Coast Football Federation announced the match against Germany on Thursday.
Ivory Coast will play Germany in Toronto on Saturday.
The federation said Wahi could not accompany the team because “the necessary administrative permission for Wahi’s entry into Canadian territory has not been obtained at this stage.”
Wahi launched an attack on Ivory Coast. 1-0 victory over Ecuador in Monday’s season opener in Philadelphia. The federation said he plans to remain in the United States until his team returns home.
The French Football League announced on Wednesday that an “extraordinary amount of bets” had been placed internationally on Wahi’s yellow card in May’s Ligue 1 match against Nice.
The French league was alerted by its betting market monitoring partners to suspicious gambling activity at international level regarding the May 17 home game between Nice and Metz, which ended 0-0 and featured Wahi. was shown a yellow card.
The French league said it had passed this information on to the relevant police and gambling authorities, as well as the French Football Federation.
Asked if Wahi had been questioned by police, the Marseille public prosecutor’s office told The Associated Press: “A 23-year-old professional soccer player who played in the French Ligue 1 championship was arrested on May 29, 2026 as part of an investigation.”
“The investigation concerns charges of organized fraud, organized sports corruption, receiving stolen property, and money laundering,” the office added. The player was questioned while in police custody, but was released without bond. The office added that the investigation is ongoing.
A representative for Mr. Wahi did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Ivorian Football Federation (FIF) said it had not been formally informed of “any judicial or administrative proceedings” regarding Wahi.
“At this particularly sensitive time, the FIF offers its full support to the player and reaffirms its confidence in him.” “Eli Wahi remains an important member of the Ivorian national team.”
May 17th was the final match of the Ligue 1 season. Less than two weeks later, Wahi scored twice in a 4-1 win over Saint-Etienne in the second leg of the promotion/relegation play-off, helping struggling Nice stay in Ligue 1.
Wahi, 23, joined Nice on loan from German side Eintracht Frankfurt in January, scoring nine goals in 18 games and helping Nice reach the French Cup final.
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AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/fifa-world-cup
