World Cup 2026: Why was Elye Wahi suspended after the start of the World Cup tournament?

The reason is clear and obvious, as press reports have indicated.

Africa 17 June 2026 at 17:15

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World Cup 2026: Why was Elye Wahi suspended after the start of the World Cup tournament?

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After the start of the World Cup and the victory of the Ivory Coast team over the legendary team with a clean goal against Ecuador, something happened that marred the victory of the Ivorian team, the arrest of Elye Wahi in America.

What happened to Elye Wahi!

Just under two weeks before the World Cup kicked off, Elye Wahi found himself at the center of a legal storm. The Athletic has reported that the 23-year-old striker was taken into police custody, though the reasons are not tied to anything on the pitch—at least not directly.

The publication goes on to reveal that Wahi is currently under investigation in connection with a controversial incident from the closing stages of the Ligue 1 season. Authorities are looking into whether he deliberately courted a yellow card during Nice's goalless stalemate against Metz on May 17, a match played in front of their own supporters at the Allianz Riviera.

That booking, now under scrutiny, has raised questions about potential foul play—namely, whether the caution was tactical in a way that crossed ethical or legal boundaries. As the investigation unfolds, the young forward's involvement in the upcoming tournament now carries a shadow of uncertainty, with the timing of his arrest only adding to the intrigue surrounding the case.

He was investigated in Marseille and then traveled with his national team to the World Cup!

Although the player was investigated in Marseille after it was suspected that he deliberately received a yellow card following his team Nice's 4-1 win over Saint-Etienne, which secured their place in Ligue 1, On Tuesday, a formal statement was issued by a representative from the Marseille public prosecutor's office, shedding light on the situation surrounding the young footballer's detention. Speaking to The Athletic, the official confirmed that the 23-year-old Ligue 1 player had indeed been taken into custody on May 29.

The arrest, according to the spokesperson, did not happen in a vacuum. It was carried out as part of a broader judicial inquiry already underway in Marseille—one that centers on a string of serious financial and ethical allegations. As the prosecutor's office detailed, the investigation touches on "organized fraud, organized sports corruption, handling of proceeds of crime and money laundering."

Those were the precise charges underpinning the decision to bring the player in for questioning, marking a dramatic turn of events for the young talent just days before the world's biggest football tournament was set to begin.