Abidjan: Ivory Coast forward Elye Wahi has been denied entry into Canada and will miss his team’s FIFA World Cup 2026 group-stage match against Germany in Toronto on Saturday, the Ivorian Football Federation (FIF) confirmed on Thursday.
The 23-year-old Nice striker, who played in Ivory Coast’s opening World Cup win over Ecuador, could not obtain the required administrative authorisations to enter Canada and will remain in the United States.
The development comes amid reports in France linking Wahi to an investigation into alleged spot-fixing in Ligue 1. The allegations are related to Nice’s league match against Metz in May, where Wahi is accused of intentionally receiving a yellow card.
French prosecutors confirmed to The Athletic that a 23-year-old Ligue 1 player had been arrested as part of the investigation, though no player was officially identified. The Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) later said it had been alerted about an unusually high volume of bets placed on a booking involving Wahi.
In an official statement, the FIF said it had not received any formal notification regarding legal proceedings involving the player and reiterated its support for him.
The federation said Wahi remains an important member of the Ivory Coast national team and that it continues to have confidence in him during the ongoing situation.
The FIF also confirmed that Wahi would not be able to join the squad’s travel to Canada because the required entry approvals could not be obtained. He will stay in the United States until the team returns.
Wahi becomes the second World Cup player in recent days to face entry issues involving Canada. Ghana midfielder Thomas Partey was also denied entry ahead of Ghana’s opening group match against Panama, prompting a formal protest from the Ghanaian government.
Ivory Coast will take on Germany in Toronto before returning to the United States for their next Group-stage fixture against Curacao in Philadelphia.
With IANS inputs