DWIGHT YORKE was denied entry into United States on Friday due to the travel ban imposed by US President Donald Trump.
Yorke, who is the former Soca Warriors captain and Manchester United striker, was denied transit access to Miami because he has an Iranian stamp on his passport, according to a tweet by media anchor Richard Keys.
The tweet from <@richardajkeys> read: “Well done @realDonaldTrump. Man U ambassador Dwight Yorke denied transit access to Miami cause he has an Iranian stamp on passport. #crazy”.
Iran was one of seven countries which Trump has banned citizens from travelling to the US last month.
The ban has since been reversed.
An online article from the UK Mirror stated that Richard Keys is an anchor on beIN Sports.
Yorke was headed to Miami after on commentating on the beIN Sports channel on Thursday night's football match where Manchester United's won 3-0 over St Etienne in the Europa League.
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'I FELT LIKE A CRIMINAL' says Man United legend Dwight Yorke
By Neil Custis and Matt Wilkinson (thesun.co.uk)
STUNNED Manchester United legend Dwight Yorke has described being made to ‘feel like a criminal’ after being barred from entering America.
Yorke was about to board a flight yesterday when he was told a red flag had come against his name because of an Iranian stamp in his passport.
The 1999 treble winner had once taken part in a World Stars XI charity game in Tehran in a legends team which included Luis Figo and Roberto Carlos.
Yorke, 45, said: “I couldn’t quite believe what was happening. 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.
“I had bought my ticket and checked in and was about to get on the flight when I was stopped by two officials.
“I thought ‘what is happening here?’. They told me there was a visa problem and a red flag had come up against my name because of an Iranian stamp in my passport.
“I went there to play in a legends match to open a stadium and didn’t even stay overnight.”
Yorke has a British passport and a diplomatic passport as a global ambassador for Trinidad and Tobago.
He was flying to Trinidad and Tobago via Miami from Qatar where he had been working for BeIN Sports TV channel commentating on Man United’s 3-0 win against St Etienne.
Yorke said: “The two officials told me if I got on the flight I would simply be deported back to Qatar once I arrived in the States.
“I tried to explain I didn’t even live in Qatar and was just trying to get to my home in the Caribbean.”
Yorke splits his time between his homes in Manchester and Tobago and travelling the world representing Manchester United and Trinidad and Tobago.
Trump passed a highly controversial executive order banning visas for seven Muslim countries, including Iran.
The order also temporarily prohibited nearly all citizens from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen from entering the United States for 90 days – including those who have visited those nations.
It has been overturned in court but heightened restrictions are still clearly in place.
Yorke was left stranded at Doha airport for five hours yesterday and had to buy a new ticket to Gatwick where he stayed last night.
He then had to buy another ticket for a flight this morning that will get him to Trinidad and Tobago.
Yorke said: “All I was doing was trying to get home for the build up to the carnival season. 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.
“It is not as if I was even going into America, the flight just happened to be going via Miami.
“There was another couple next to me who were on their way to Miami to pick up a boat they had bought and to go on a sailing trip.
"They were stopped from getting on the flight too because they came from Oman.”
Yorke, father of Katie Price's 14-year-old son Harvey, played in a charity match in Tehran in 2011 to raise money for sufferers of multiple sclerosis.
Other football aces who played in the game - and will have Iranian stamps - include France and Chelsea star Marcel Desailly and Real Madrid legends Luis Figo and Roberto Carlos.
BeIN sports host Richard Keys slammed the ban on Twitter.
He wrote: "Well done @realDonaldTrump. Man U ambassador Dwight Yorke denied transit access to Miami because he has Iranian stamp in passport #crazy."