The Sun, a News UK Company, has broken the news that soccer great Dwight Yorke, who holds a shared record for the most FIFA World Cup appearances, was denied entry into the United States on Friday because he has an Iranian stamp in his passport.
"I couldn't quite believe what was happening," said Yorke in an exclusive interview with 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."
Yorke, who had been working as a commentator for BeIN-TV in Qatar, was heading home to Trinidad and Tobago with a scheduled stop in Miami. But he was prohibited from boarding the flight and told he would just be deported back to Qatar if he did fly to Miami. He then tried to explain that he doesn't live in Qatar, but it didn't make a difference
York holds a British passport and a diplomatic one as he serves as a global ambassador for his home country, Trinidad and Tobago. He lives in both the U.K. and the Caribbean.
He obtained the Iranian stamp in his passport when he played a charity soccer match in Tehran in 2011.
"I went there to play in a legends match to open a stadium and didn't even stay overnight."
Yorke's denied entry comes at the tail end of a tumultuous month-long-period, which kicked off with President Donald Trump signing an executive order denying entry to the United States from citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries.
Yorke, however, was technically denied entry courtesy of an Obama-administration regulation which requires that anyone holding a passport stamp from those same seven nations must first obtain a visa to enter the United States.
Although President Trump's executive order was blocked by a Federal judge a week after he signed it into law, and the block was later upheld by a Federal Appeals court, Trump has vowed to "not back down from defending our country."
He has also promised to release a new executive action next week.
But it looks like he could already be slowly and quietly ramping up his new initiative by focusing on maximizing laws already on the books, such as the one that prevented Yorke from transiting in the U.S.
According to The Sun article, another couple booked on the same flight as Yorke were also denied access to the United States.
"They were stopped from getting on the flight too because they came from Oman."
Yorke eventually purchased a new ticket to Gatwick, where he spent the night before purchasing another new ticket to Trinidad and Tobago.
"All I was doing was trying to get home for the build up to the carnival season," said Yorke. "I have never had anything like this happen before.
"I have travelled the world for years as a footballer and ambassador for Manchester United and my country without any problems.
"I am stunned at what has happened."
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