Ivory Coast Footballer in Trouble Over Match-fixing Allegation

Ivory Coast forward Elye Wahi has been barred from entering Canada over allegations linked to match-fixing, ruling him out of a crucial World Cup fixture.

Wahi who featured in Ivory Coast’s 1-0 win over Ecuador and was expected to be part of the squad against Germany, will miss the match after being denied entry due to administrative clearance issues, according to the Ivory Coast Football Federation (FIF).

The federation said Wahi was unable to travel with the team due to the lack of required approval and will remain in the United States until the squad departs.

On Wednesday, the French football league revealed that unusually high betting activity had been recorded around a yellow card shown to Wahi during a Ligue 1 match for Nice in May. The league raised concerns after receiving alerts from its betting-monitoring partners regarding suspicious patterns.

Following the developments, Canadian authorities imposed restrictions on the player’s entry. Ivory Coast is scheduled to face Germany in Toronto on Saturday.