Ivory Coast forward Elye Wahi has become involved in a French betting integrity investigation after unusual wagering patterns were detected around a yellow card he received while playing for Nice in Ligue 1.
The case concerns Nice’s 0-0 draw with Metz on 17 May, the final round of the Ligue 1 season. The result left Nice in 16th place and sent the club into a relegation play-off against Saint-Étienne.
Wahi was booked during the match, with reports stating the caution triggered a suspension for the first leg of that play-off.
The French Professional Football League (LFP) said its betting monitoring partners identified an unusual volume of wagers placed internationally on Wahi receiving a yellow card. The league alerted the relevant authorities but said it had not opened disciplinary proceedings.
A Marseille prosecutor’s office spokesperson told Reuters that a 23-year-old Ligue 1 player was taken into custody on 29 May as part of an investigation into suspected organised fraud, organised sports corruption, handling stolen goods and money laundering.
Wahi has not been named as a suspect and has not been charged.
The timing has given the case wider significance. Wahi later travelled to the United States for the World Cup and started Ivory Coast’s 1-0 win over Ecuador in Philadelphia on 14 June.
The Ivory Coast team said it had no information on the investigation, while Reuters said it could not immediately reach Wahi’s agent for comment.
France has a mature regulated sports betting market, with the Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ) overseeing licensed betting online, at points of sale and at racecourses. The regulator has already treated the 2026 World Cup as a major betting risk period, launching a prevention campaign before the tournament and warning consumers about betting advice services online.
The French case follows other football integrity proceedings in Europe, including the Polish Football Association’s disciplinary action against five players accused of illegal betting activity.
France legalised online sports betting before the 2010 World Cup. The ANJ has also warned operators to moderate advertising pressure during the 2026 tournament
