September 29, (THEWILL) – Super Eagles’ forward Kelechi Iheanacho was in the squad of Leicester City’s UEFA Europa League match contingent against Legia Warsaw on Thursday and left with the team for the away fixture only to be turned away by Polish border control.
The striker was set to start Leicester’s first away match in Europe this season against the Polish champions on Thursday, but he was denied entry owing to improper documentation.
He took a chartered flight with the rest of the team, but he was denied entry into the country because his documents did not match his passport. He was obliged to stay at Warsaw Chopin Airport while the rest of the team went into the city to prepare for the game, and he was still waiting for a flight back to the UK as of Wednesday night.
The club considered it too onerous to fly him back to the United Kingdom to obtain the necessary documents and then return to Warsaw, so he will miss the Group C match. He is accompanied by a club official, who will accompany him on the return flight.
At the pre-match press conference, club manager Brendan Rodgers said of the subject: “We’ve had an issue with Kelechi, so his documentation coming into the country wasn’t sufficient, so unfortunately he isn’t able to play. It’s a shame because he would have played in the game. He will be unavailable.
“The paperwork, his documentation, didn’t allow him to enter the country. It’s unfortunate. We’ll have to look at that when we get back.”
Leicester is expected to evaluate its procedures for international travel as a result of the incident. Iheanacho had never had any problems in the past, and he was allowed to attend the club’s Europa League games last season.
Patson Daka, who started alongside Iheanacho in the Foxes’ Europa League opening against Napoli a week ago, might take his position in the starting lineup. Jonny Evans, a defender for Leicester, is also unable to take part due to illness. Wilfred Ndidi, on the other hand, has been suspended due to the red card he picked up against Napoli in the last tie
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
