 |
| Aurier has previously appeared eight times in the Champions League for PSG |
Paris St-Germain full-back Serge
Aurier was stopped from entering the United Kingdom and will miss
Wednesday's Champions League match against Arsenal.
The Ivorian, 23, was given a two-month suspended prison sentence in September for assaulting a police officer.
PSG say the UK authorities granted Aurier a visa in October but revoked it on 16 November, citing his conviction.
Uefa expressed "deep disappointment" in the ruling, while PSG said the timing showed "a lack of respect".
The
French champions accused the Home Office of a "tardy response" and
claimed the decision was not made until Tuesday afternoon.
But
the Home Office said in a statement: "The immigration rules clearly
state that non-EU nationals who have received a custodial sentence of
less than 12 months within the last five years will be refused on
criminality grounds."
There is no right to appeal against a visa refusal.
Aurier, an Ivory Coast international, is appealing against his
initial conviction, leading PSG to believe he is entitled to be presumed
innocent.
"Paris St-Germain strongly regrets the presumption of
innocence has not influenced Britain's decision," said the club in a
statement.
Uefa sent letters to the Home Office and Football
Association supporting PSG, and said it was "regrettable" he could not
play "for reasons which are not related to football and its
regulations".
Aurier, who has played 40 times for PSG since making
his loan deal from Toulouse permanent last year, is accused of elbowing
a police officer outside a Paris nightclub in May.
In addition to his suspended sentence, he was fined €600 (£521).
PSG
manager Unai Emery said the club "did everything in its power" to have
Aurier available for their penultimate game in Group A.
His side
go into Wednesday's meeting at Emirates Stadium second in the standings,
level on 10 points with leaders Arsenal with both clubs assured of a
place in the knockout stages.
No comments:
Post a Comment