Switzerland international Breel Embolo has been banned from flying to the United States ahead of the World Cup - just minutes before their flight took off!
The Swiss squad jetted to America on Tuesday to continue their World Cup preparations, but Embolo was not allowed to board the plane with his teammates.
According to the Swiss Football Federation, the 29-year-old striker’s ESTA had already been approved, but on the morning of departure U.S. authorities informed them that the authorization required further review.
As a result, he could not board the flight with the rest of the squad.
Reports indicate the review is linked to a Swiss court case arising from a 2018 incident.
Embolo was convicted in 2023 of making multiple threats and received a suspended fine.
After appeals were exhausted and the judgment became final, the matter appears to have affected his travel authorization review.
The Swiss Federation said it expected the issue to be resolved and hoped Embolo would join the team a day or two later.
They also noted that he had previously traveled to the U.S. with Switzerland without any problems.
So, based on current reports, Embolo was not permanently banned from entering the U.S.
Rather, his ESTA authorization was placed under review at the last minute, delaying his travel.
Breel Donald Embolo was born on 14 February 1997, in the Cameroonian capital of Yaoundé.
His parents separated when he was young, and at the age of five, his mother moved to France where he attended school; he was raised along with his siblings between Toulouse and Paris.
The following year, the family moved to Basel, Switzerland.
