A player that has already featured at the football World Cup will be allowed to continue representing their country at the tournament… despite having been arrested over alleged match fixing and betting fraud offences.
Elye Wahi, who appeared for the Ivory Coast in their opening game against Ecuador, has been accused of deliberately getting a yellow card while playing for his club side, Nice.
If found guilty of the offence, the 23-year-old could face the most serious of sanctions, which might include a ban from all levels of professional football.
However, as it stands, Wahi will still be allowed to play for the Ivorians against Germany on Saturday while the investigation is ongoing.
Organised Sports Corruption
It’s alleged that on May 17, which was the final day of the French Ligue 1 campaign, Wahi deliberately picked up a booking while playing for Nice against Metz.
In the 35th minute, he was cautioned for what football live score app FotMob described as a ‘bad foul’.
Wahi then played in the relegation play-offs against Saint-Etienne, scoring twice in a victory that kept Nice in French football’s top-tier division.
However, just hours later, he was arrested as part of an investigation into alleged betting fraud.
According to anonymous sources quoted by The Athletic, Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) – the governing body of French football – was tipped off by Ligue 1 officials about a series of suspicious betting patterns regarding Wahi and a yellow card in the game in question.
The LFP hasn’t revealed much in the way of information as it investigates, although it did describe an ‘unusual volume of bets’ as the trigger for the probe and subsequent arrest. They have been working with enforcement officials and gambling firms while gathering evidence.
“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 organised fraud, organised sports corruption, handling of proceeds of crime and money laundering,” reads an LFP statement.
“He was released after he was interviewed in police custody. The investigations remain ongoing.”
This isn’t the first time that French football has been embroiled in a match fixing scandal. Back in the 1992/93 season, senior officials at Marseille were found to have bribed players at Valenciennes to deliberately underperform in a game against their team.
Marseille wanted to remain fresh for the upcoming Champions League final against AC Milan, with Valenciennes asked to take it easy on their players.
Two of the players approached, Jorge Burruchaga and Jean-Jacques Eydelie, accepted a bribe, however a third – Jacques Glassmann – refused the money and blew the whistle on the scheme.
He was awarded the FIFA Fair Play Award, while Eydelie was sentenced to prison for his part in the plot and Burruchaga received a suspended sentence.
Marseille were stripped of the Ligue 1 title, but second-placed PSG refused to accept the trophy – officially, no champion was crowned in 1992/93.
Active Investigation
Wahi has not been charged with any crime and is free to continue playing while the investigation is ongoing.
So he was free to link up with his Ivory Coast teammates ahead of the World Cup… or so he thought.
The 23-year-old started for the Ivorians in their 1-0 win over Ecuador on Monday, playing 56 minutes before being substituted.
Their next game is against Germany in Toronto on Saturday, however Wahi was initially refused entry into Canada.
The Canadian authorities cited the ‘active investigation’ as the reason, confirming that the ‘necessary administrative authorisations for his entry into Canadian territory could not be obtained at this stage.’
They have already refused entry to Ghana player Thomas Partey, who denies allegations of rape and sexual assault for which he is being investigated.
His visa application was rejected after he told immigration officials that he had never been arrested or charged with a crime.
However, in Wahi’s case, Canadian authorities have since performed a complete U-turn, with the Ivory Coast’s football federation (FIF) confirming that their striker was free to travel with the squad to Toronto.
Sufficient assurances about the player’s legal situation have been provided, with officials in Canada happy to green light his entry into the country.
“The necessary authorisations for his entry into Canadian territory have now been obtained,” said a spokesperson for FIF.
“As a result, the Ivorian international is authorised to travel with the Elephants’ delegation to Canada and will continue his participation in the competition alongside his teammates as normal.”