World Cup champion Joan Capdevila traveling to World Cup final despite being denied ESTA
Capdevila thinks his ESTA has not been approved because he played in Iran ten years ago.
UPDATE: Finally, Capdevila will finally be at the World Cup final tonight, after his problem with the visa was sorted, and was seen taking a plane with former Spanish player Marco Senna.
Original story: Joan Capdevila, former footballer who has part of the Spain squad that lifted World Cup in 2010 and UEFA Euro in 2008, cannot travel to the United States to watch the new generation of players bring another World Cup against Argentina. Capdevila posted on X on Friday night, directly asking for help from Donald Trump.
"They just told me that I can't travel to the final with my kids because my ESTA has been denied. Can anyone help me with this? You have no idea how excited I was to be there with all my 2010 teammates and this team to cheer them on", Capdevila posted, also quoting the Ministry of Sports in Spain.
"I can't believe they're not letting me into the USA... and that I'll miss a moment like this with my kids who love soccer so much..."
While some of his former teammates from the Spanish national team, like Xavi, Casillas, and Piqué have been watching other Spain games from the VIP grandstands, Capdevila, who was a starter in the 2010 final and played all matches and minutes in the competition, was invited by the Spanish Federation to go watch the match on Sunday with his family and former teammates... but his visa was denied.
Speaking to Spanish radio stations SER and Cope, Capdevila explained that he believes his ESTA has been denied because he played a football match in Iran in 2016, and says that all he wanted was to live again with his children what he already lived 16 years ago. "I'm surprised, in this day and age, a person who wants to enjoy a sports event isn't allowed to go".
