Côte d'Ivoire striker Elye Wahi has been blocked from entering Canada and will miss his country's FIFA World Cup 2026 group-stage match against Germany in Toronto on Saturday, according to BBC Sport.

Spot-fixing allegations at the heart of the matter

Wahi, 23, was arrested last month in connection with a spot-fixing investigation in Ligue 1. The Nice forward stands accused of deliberately earning a yellow card during a league match against Metz in May, an act allegedly designed to benefit bettors in the gambling markets.

Spot-fixing refers to the deliberate manipulation of specific match incidents — such as bookings or corners — to allow individuals to profit through betting rather than influencing the overall result.

The public prosecutor's office in Marseille confirmed in a statement to The Athletic that a 23-year-old Ligue 1 player had been arrested as part of an investigation into "organised fraud, organised sports corruption, handling of proceeds of crime and money laundering," without naming Wahi directly. He was released after being questioned in police custody, and the investigation remains ongoing.

On Wednesday, the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) confirmed it had been alerted to "an unusually high volume of bets placed on a warning involving the player Elye Wahi." The LFP added it had not initiated disciplinary proceedings but reserved the right to do so as the investigation develops.

FIF backs Wahi despite entry setback

The Ivorian Football Federation (FIF) stated it had not been officially informed of any judicial or administrative proceedings against the player, but acknowledged he would not travel with the squad to Canada.

"The FIF extends all its support to the player and reaffirms its confidence in him. Elye Wahi remains an important element of the Ivory Coast national team," the federation said.

Wahi, who started Côte d'Ivoire's opening win over Ecuador, will remain in the United States while the rest of the delegation travels north. After facing Germany, Côte d'Ivoire are scheduled to face Curacao in Philadelphia next Thursday.

The yellow card in question was Wahi's fifth in the Ligue 1 season, triggering an automatic suspension for the first leg of Nice's relegation play-off against Saint-Etienne on 26 May. That match ended 0-0, but Wahi returned for the second leg and scored twice in a 4-1 victory that secured Nice's top-flight survival.

Second World Cup player denied entry to Canada

Wahi is the second player at FIFA World Cup 2026 to be refused entry into Canada. Ghana midfielder Thomas Partey was previously denied a visa owing to ongoing criminal proceedings in the United Kingdom.

Partey pleaded not guilty to seven counts of rape and one count of sexual assault relating to allegations by four women between 2020 and 2022, with his trial scheduled for next year. He incorrectly declared to Canadian authorities that he had never been arrested or charged, and missed Ghana's group-stage victory over Panama as a result. A last-minute appeal by the Ghanaian government to a federal court in Ottawa was rejected.