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Ivory Coast star Elye Wahi was reportedly arrested less than two weeks before the World Cup on suspicion of match-fixing offences.
A report in The Athletic details that 23-year-old Wahi is the subject of an “active investigation” to establish whether the forward deliberately earned a yellow card while playing for Nice against Metz in Ligue 1 on 17 May.
The report adds that Wahi, who started Ivory Coast’s 1-0 win against Ecuador on Sunday night, was subsequently arrested by French police on 29 May and was released after an interview.
A spokesperson for Marseille public prosecutor’s office said: “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 Independent has approached Fifa, the Ivorian Football Association and Wahi’s representatives for comment.
An investigation was opened after the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP), who run French domestic football, received notifications of suspicious betting patterns involving Wahi receiving a yellow card during Nice’s game against Metz on 17 May, which ended 0-0.
Wahi received a yellow card in the 35th minute for a tackle on Metz’s Sadibou Sane. He also committed a foul two minutes earlier, after a slide tackle on Bouna Sarr.
Wahi, 23, scored twice to help Nice stay in Ligue 1 on 29 May. Later that day, he was arrested by French police (Reuters)
Wahi’s yellow card was his fifth of the season, which ruled him out of Nice’s relegation play-off first leg against Saint-Etienne. That ended goalless before Wahi returned to score twice in a 4-1 win in the second leg on 29 May. Later that day, he was arrested by anti-corruption officers in the French police.
As things stand, Wahi has not been charged with any crime and travelled to the United States for Ivory Coast’s World Cup campaign.
The striker only switched allegiance to the west African country from France, whom he represented at youth level, in March.
Wahi played 55 minutes in the win against Ecuador, hitting the bar just before being substituted. Ivory Coast’s next game is against Germany on Saturday night before their final Group E clash against Curacao next Thursday.
