Ivory Coast’s Elye Wahi granted Canadian visa hours after denial

The forward will now be able to join his team in Toronto when they take on Germany on Saturday.Ivory Coast forward Elye Wahi has received travel authorisation to visit Canada for this weekend’s World Cup clash with Germany, the country’s football federation said, hours after it said he would not be able to travel because he had not received his visa.“The Ivorian Football Federation (FIF) reports that Elye Wahi’s administrative situation has evolved favorably. The necessary authorisations for his entry into Canadian territory have now been obtained,” said a statement from the official X account of the Ivorian Football Federation on Thursday.Wahi was linked to an investigation into suspected sport corruption, with French authorities saying unusual betting patterns were detected around a yellow card Wahi received in a Ligue 1 match while playing for Nice last month.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Yoane Wissa: Acid attack survivor who made World Cup history for DR Congolist 2 of 4Ghana beat Panama with injury-time winner in chaotic World Cup matchlist 3 of 4South Africa coach tells critics to ‘shut up’ after poor start to World Cuplist 4 of 4World Cup: Diaz dazzles as Colombia beat newcomers Uzbekistan 3-1end of listWahi, who was not immediately available to comment, was not named as a suspect.A spokesperson for the Marseille prosecutor’s office said a 23-year-old Ligue 1 player was taken into custody on May 29 as part of an investigation into suspected organised fraud, organised sport corruption, handling stolen goods and money laundering.Wahi’s lawyer, Marie Dose, said earlier the player had been questioned “for a few hours” last month, but was subsequently released.“Elye Wahi is therefore not facing charges at this stage and is not subject to any judicial restrictions,” she added.‘Difficult period’The FIF said it had full confidence in Wahi.“To date, the FIF has not been officially notified of any legal or administrative proceedings concerning him,” the FIF said in a statement.