Ahead of the FIFA World Cup finals, a fresh debate has erupted over US visa policies. Former Spain World Cup winner Juan Capdevila has been rejected by the Donald Trump administration for a visa application to travel to the United States to take part in his country’s final against Argentina. Shocked by the incident, the former player took to social media to seek help directly from Donald Trump.
Capdevila, who played a key role in Spain’s 2010 World Cup victory and was a member of the 2008 Euro Cup winning team, was not allowed to enter the United States to watch the World Cup final. The 48-year-old former defenseman wanted to enjoy the important game with his teammates from the stands at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. In a social media post on Friday night, he wrote, ‘Donald Trump, I need your help. In another post, he said he wanted to watch the game with his 2010 World Cup-winning teammates. In 2014, Cupdevil also played for North East United in the Indian Super League. He has appealed separately to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Spain’s sports ministry to resolve the matter.
According to reports, Capdevila traveled to Iran with a group of former Spanish La Liga players about ten years ago. They also participated in an exhibition match with former Iranian footballers in Tehran. The US administration is believed to have rejected his visa application because of his visit to Iran. Under US State Department regulations, those who visited Iran after March 1, 2011, must obtain a special visa in advance to travel to the United States.
Cupdevila applied for a visa through the US Electronic Travel Authorization System (ESTA) to watch the World Cup final. Through this arrangement, the United States grants easy access to citizens of certain countries, and Spain is included in this list of countries. However, his application was not granted under this expedited procedure because, after his history of visits to Iran, it remains unclear how the US administration or the Spanish authorities will respond to his request in such a short period of time.