Ivory Coast ST denied entry into Canada at World Cup due to match-fixing allegations

The Ivory Coast is currently in second place in Group E at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. They took a 1-0 win over Ecuador in the first round of the Group Stage. They are set to play on Saturday against Germany.

Now, it is coming out that the Ivory Coast will be without one of its strikers against Germany, as he has been denied entry to Canada, according to Fabrizio Romano.

“Ivory Coast striker Elye Wahi has been denied visa into Canada to face Germany. This happened due to of an ongoing investigation into match-fixing allegations, which falls foul of Canadian immigration rules,” Romano posted on X, formerly Twitter.

Elye Wahi, who started for the Ivory Coast in their first fixture of the World Cup, will not be playing in their second fixture. He was arrested on suspicion of match-fixing just two weeks before the World Cup.  On a May 17 match against Metz, while Wahi was playing for his club Nice, he received a yellow card. According to a report from Jacob Whitehead of The Athletic, there was an unusually large number of bets placed on Wahi to get a yellow card in the game.

“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 for the Marseille public prosecutor’s office 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.”

Wahi played 55 minutes against Ecuador, hitting the bar in the second half, but not scoring. He will now remain in the United States as his team travels to face Germany.

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