The World Cup participant was arrested! Serious allegations of match fixing

Elye Wahi played in the first group match of the Ivory Coast national team at the 2026 World Cup. Ultimately, the African team won against Ecuador (1-0), and the player himself could even get on the scorer’s list. However, after his shot, the ball landed not in the net of the Ecuadorian goal, but on the crossbar.

As it turns out, however, the period before the World Cup was… very turbulent for the 23-year-old player. And this is putting it mildly, looking at the reports from The Athletic’s journalists.

A football player who played in the World Cup was arrested! Match fixing scandal

The WKS representative was to be arrested two weeks before the start of the 2026 World Cup. Wahi is still to be the subject of an investigation. The allegations surrounding the footballer concern his alleged involvement in match-fixing. The WKS representative was intentionally given a yellow card in one of the matches of the French Ligue 1.

Wahi is a Nice player. The footballer was to be arrested on May 29 by the French police.

A spokesman for the Marseille prosecutor’s office told The Athletic on Tuesday: “We can confirm that a 23-year-old footballer, who plays in the French Ligue 1, was arrested on May 29 as part of an investigation initiated by the Marseille prosecutor’s office on charges of organized fraud, organized sports corruption, manipulation of the proceeds of crime and money laundering. He was released after questioning in police custody. The investigation is ongoing. The footballer is not a member of the French team participating in the World Championships,” we read in the text “The Athletic“.

The WKS player played 55 minutes in his first match at the 2026 World Cup, starting the tournament in the starting lineup.

World Cup 2026. Where and when to watch the greatest football World Cup in history?

From June 11 to July 19, the 23rd FIFA World Cup will be held on pitches in three countries – the United States, Mexico and Canada. An event that will certainly be unique, if only because of its format. For the first time in history, as many as 48 teams will take part in the main tournament.

The title from four years ago is defended by the Argentines. During the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Lionel Messi and company defeated the French in the final, winning after a series of penalties (4:2). In the history of football World Cups, Brazil has the most titles – as many as five. Four victories in the history of the World Championships belong to the Italians and Germans. The Argentines won three times. More than once, the trophy for winning the World Cup was raised – twice – by the players of France and Uruguay.

The Polish national team was third twice at the World Championships, but those were the old days – we are talking about the events in 1974 and 1982. At the last World Cup, Poles managed to advance to the knockout phase, but were eliminated in the 1/8 finals by the French (1:3).

Matches of the 2026 World Cup can only be watched on Polish Television – on TVP Sport, TVP 1 and TVP 2 and on tvpsport.pl. Additionally, broadcasts will be available in the TVP Sport mobile application and smart TV.