Switzerland’s star striker was denied entry to the United States on the eve of the World Cup

Esta is a US electronic travel permit for citizens of visa-free countries, such as Finns and Swiss. It is needed when traveling to the United States.

According to the BBC, the reason for Embolo’s travel ban is his previous problems with the law. He received a sentence in 2023 for threats related to the 2018 incident in Basel. At that time, Embolo threatened the man with violence after the night at the bar.

Embolo was sentenced to 45 daily fines, and in his case the amount of one daily fine was around 3,000 euros.

The Swiss Football Association said on Tuesday that Embolo will join the team at a later date. The Swiss shared a photo on Instagram of the free plane seat intended for Embolo with the text “see you soon, Breel”.

French Embolo, who plays in Rennes in the main league, has played 85 international matches and scored 23 goals in them.

The World Championships, which are starting now, are already the sixth prestigious adult competitions for him. He has previously played in the European Championships in 2016, 2020 (the tournament was played in 2021 due to the corona pandemic) and 2024, as well as in the World Championships in 2018 and 2022. Embolo is expected to get a visa. In that case, he will be seen in the starting line-up when Switzerland open their tournament on June 13 against Qatar.

Switzerland plays in Group B, where its other opponents are Bosnia and Herzegovina and the tournament organizer Canada.

Correction 4.6. at 2:43 p.m.: Elaborated on the story that the EC tournament 2020 was played in 2021 due to the corona pandemic.