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Ivory Coast star, Elye Wahi has been denied entry into Canada for his country’s next World Cup match, a day after it was revealed that the 23-year-old had been arrested over match-fixing offences.
The Ivorian forward Wahi is the subject of an “active investigation” from the French police to establish whether he deliberately earned a yellow card while playing for Nice against Metz in Ligue 1 on 17 May.
A report in The Athletic detailed 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.
However, the Ivorian Football Federation (FIF) issued a statement on Thursday detailing that Wahi has not been allowed to join the squad for their clash in Toronto against Germany on Saturday as the “necessary administrative authorisations for his entry into Canadian territory could not be obtained at this stage.”
Wahi becomes the second World Cup player who has not been allowed entry into Canada after Ghana’s Thomas Partey, who is facing rape allegations in the UK. He was refused entry for his side’s 1-0 win against Panama on Wednesday in Toronto.
Wahi is set to remain at Ivory Coast’s HQ in Philadelphia while his teammates travel north to Toronto.
