Thursday 2 April 2020 12:33, UK
Paris Saint-Germain claim defender Serge Aurier has been refused entry into the UK ahead of their Champions League match against Arsenal on Wednesday due to a recent conviction.
The French champions say British authorities had originally granted the Ivory Coast international permission to enter the country for the game at the Emirates Stadium, but revoked the 23-year-old's visa on November 16.
Aurier was given a two-month suspended prison sentence in May after allegedly assaulting a police officer outside a nightclub in Paris and is currently appealing that ruling.
In a statement released on Tuesday, PSG said: "After an initial application on October 18, complete with all the necessary documents, the British authorities had originally granted Paris Saint-Germain's Ivory Coast international, Serge Aurier, an entry visa to the UK on 21 October.
"However, on November 16, his visa was finally revoked by the British Ministry of the Interior, who justified their about-face by citing Aurier's conviction on September 30, 2016.
"Paris Saint-Germain had, in all transparency, informed the British authorities of this conviction, as well as Aurier's appeal against this decision (and the legal suspension of the ruling) from the outset.
"The club has argued several times that since the player has launched a legal appeal against the criminal ruling, he is therefore entitled to the presumption of innocence, as any other person exercising their right to appeal.
"Paris Saint-Germain strongly regrets that the presumption of innocence has not influenced Britain's decision. On several occasions, UEFA has also transmitted its total support of Paris Saint-Germain to the British authorities regarding this case, in order to preserve the integrity of its competitions.
"The club also deplores that the final decision of the British authorities was only communicated at 2pm on Tuesday, despite the club working for the last six days to find a solution to enable our player to travel with his team-mates to London.
"Paris Saint-Germain considers this extremely tardive response as a flagrant lack of respect for the club, given that its player could have been training with the team just hours later at Emirates Stadium."
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