FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Argentine Primera Division - River Plate v Boca Juniors - Estadio Mas Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina - April 27, 2025 Boca Juniors' Ayrton Costa in action with River Plate's Sebastian Driussi REUTERS/Rodrigo Valle/File Photo
(Reuters) -Boca Juniors defender Ayrton Costa will be able to take part in the Club World Cup in the United States following a u-turn by U.S. immigration officials who had previously rejected his visa application, the Argentine club said on Friday.
"Ayrton Costa has been granted a 26-day special visa," a club spokesperson told Reuters.
Costa's visa application was subject to a criminal complaint in his native Argentina, relating to an aggravated robbery in 2018, which he avoided trial for by accepting a probationary sentence in 2023.
However, U.S. officials previously ruled that he could not enter the country as he was still serving his sentence.
The press office at the U.S. embassy in Argentina told Reuters that they cannot discuss individual visa applications.
Boca Juniors will open the tournament in Miami on Monday against Portuguese side Benfica.
(Reporting by Angelica Medina in Mexico City and and Ramiro Scandolo in Miami, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
