Us Sports Lobby Home Office For Travel Exemption After Golf Caddie Refused Uk Entry

Sports organisations successful nan US will property nan Home Office to use exemptions to caller recreation rules for American citizens entering nan UK aft nan caddie of golfer Harris English missed retired connected astir £130,000 by being denied entree for nan Scottish Open and Open Championship.

The lawsuit of Eric Larson has alerted nan likes of nan NFL and NBA, which shape games successful London, that sportspeople aliases unit tin beryllium prohibited from entering nan UK nether Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) rules if they person a criminal conviction. Larson was sentenced to 13 years successful situation successful 1995 for engagement successful supplier dealing and rebuilt his profession arsenic a caddie for respective starring PGA Tour players aft serving 10 years.

Larson’s past had mostly been forgotten until nan Scottish Open, erstwhile it was revealed immoderate American national fixed a custodial condemnation of astatine slightest 12 months will now beryllium denied UK entry. ETA implementation started successful January this year.

Larson was refused recreation contempt lobbying to nan Home Office from nan PGA Tour and nan R&A. English tied 22nd successful Scotland and vanished 2nd successful nan Open. Caddies typically person astir 10% of their player’s winnings; English earned much than £1.8m from his UK trip. As things stand, Larson will brushwood nan aforesaid business successful 2026.

The American bodies will constituent to nan fact Donald Trump’s prohibition connected citizens from a twelve countries entering nan US – different 7 person been served pinch restrictions – contains an exemption intended to use to players, unit aliases associated families linked to nan 2026 Fifa World Cup aliases nan 2028 Olympics. No specified leeway presently exists for nan UK border.

“Sporting bodies are now asking nan UK to use sporting exemptions connected this system,” confirmed a elder fig wrong US sport. The Home Office did not connection remark connected whether it has already been asked to use sporting exemptions connected nan ETA and what immoderate consequence towards this mightiness be.

A root pinch knowledge of nan Home Office position added: “Each exertion for a determination extracurricular nan rules is considered connected its merits but informed by erstwhile examples and precedents.” The aforesaid root confirmed nan “mandatory and automatic refusal of introduction clearance for individuals who person received a erstwhile custodial condemnation of astatine slightest 12 months”.

The NFL will return to nan Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for matches connected back-to-back weekends successful October. The NBA announced past week that games will beryllium staged successful London successful early 2026 and Manchester nan pursuing year.

An evident anomaly pinch nan UK’s existent stance tin beryllium demonstrated wrong golf. Ángel Cabrera received a multi-year situation word for crimes against women. The erstwhile Masters champion, from Argentina, played successful nan Senior Open astatine Sunningdale successful July. The Australian Ryan Peake participated successful nan Open astatine Royal Portrush, six years aft being released from jailhouse connected a superior battle conviction. Peake is understood to clasp a UK passport.