A prominent Australian media personality has been prohibited from visiting the US just weeks before the World Cup of football.
Tom Steinfort, a newsreader for Channel 9, had intended to travel to the US for the World Cup next month, but his visa was denied, forcing him to cancel flights and give away tickets.
As part of the application process, Steinfort, a journalist for 60 Minutes, had to disclose the nations he had recently traveled to. “As soon as they got on the page showing North Korea, Afghanistan, Cuba, it was a no,” Steinfort said.
“They didn’t put that in the brochure, I never thought I’d be banned…the home of democracy,” Steinfort said. “I’ve been banned from the UAE, China, Saudi Arabia, and Thailand.” Steinfort was sent to those areas for work and didn’t anticipate any issues when asking for a visa. “You go through a formal interview process and I got the tickets in the ballot and now I have to flog them off” is the reality.
Due to his recent travels to North Korea, Afghanistan, and Cuba, 60 Minutes correspondent Tom Steinfort was prohibited from entering the United States to witness the football World Cup.
Donald Trump, the president of the United States, has criticized the competition
Steinfort and Claudia Jukic, his wife
Steinfort will now travel to Canada to witness Australia’s opening game against Turkey on June 13 in Vancouver.
He said, “I’m going with my three brothers and some mates; otherwise, I’d be stuck there on my own for 48 hours on the ground.”
The high cost of tickets for the World Cup has drawn criticism.
Due to the limited supply of Category 4 seats, most fans may only purchase Category 3 tickets, which cost $1,120 (A$1553) for the USA’s first group match versus Paraguay.
“I would certainly like to be there, but I wouldn’t pay it either, to be honest with you,” said US President Trump last week.
