“I love the country, yet I was being made to feel like a criminal.”
Dwight Yorke has been speaking about being “denied entry” to the United States. On Friday, reports emerged that the former Manchester United striker was allegedly denied access at Miami airport because he has an Iranian stamp on his passport.
Donald Trump, the President of the United States, has imposed a ban on people from Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen entering the United States, and Yorke was allegedly denied access.
Yorke received the stamp on his passport after playing a football legends charity match in Tehran in 2015, held to raise money for sufferers of multiple sclerosis.
Luis Figo, Roberto Carlos, Fabio Cannavaro, Marcel Desailly and Edgar Davids also featured in the game.
Richard Keys, who had worked alongside the United club ambassador the previous evening on beIN Sports, tweeted his dismay about the situation.
Well done @realDonaldTrump. Man U ambassador Dwight Yorke denied transit access to Miami cause he has Iranian stamp in passport. #crazy
— Richard Keys (@richardajkeys) February 17, 2017
Sky Sports News reporter Kaveh Solhekol later also said that the 45-year-old had been “denied entry” to the United States.
Dwight Yorke confirms he's been denied entry to the US because of Iranian stamp in his passport. (Played in Tehran charity match in 2015.)
— Kaveh Solhekol (@SkyKaveh) February 17, 2017
And now Yorke has had his say, expressing his shock and sadness.
“I couldn’t quite believe what was happening” Yorke told the Sun.
“I have lost count of the number of times I have been to America. I love the country, yet I was being made to feel like a criminal.
“I had bought my ticket and checked in and was about to get on the flight when I was stopped by two officials. I thought, ‘What is happening here?’ They told me there was a visa problem and a red flag had come up against my name because of an Iranian stamp in my passport.
“I went there to play in a legends match to open a stadium and didn’t even stay overnight.
“The two officials told me if I got on the flight I would simply be deported back to Qatar once I arrived in the States. I tried to explain I didn’t even live in Qatar and was just trying to get to my home in the Caribbean.”
Yorke is from Trinidad and Tobago, and played in England for almost 20 years, starting his career with Aston Villa.
He joined United in 1998 and won three Premier League titles, the FA Cup and the Champions League.
Yorke later had stints with Blackburn, Birmingham City and Sunderland, and a spell with Sydney FC in Australia.
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