Paris St-Germain full-back Serge Aurier has been stopped from entering the United Kingdom by authorities before Wednesday’s Champions League match at Arsenal.
The Ivorian, 23, was given a two-month suspended prison sentence in September for assaulting a police officer.
PSG say UK authorities granted Aurier a visa in October but revoked it on 16 November, citing his conviction.
The French champions said the timing of the ruling showed “a lack of respect”.
But in a statement, the Home Office said: “The immigration rules clearly state that non-EU nationals who have received a custodial sentence of less than 12 months within the last five years will be refused on criminality grounds.”
Aurier is appealing his conviction, leading PSG to believe he is entitled to be presumed innocent.
“Paris Saint-Germain strongly regrets that the presumption of innocence has not influenced Britain’s decision,” said the French champions in a statement.
“On several occasions, Uefa has also transmitted its total support of Paris Saint-Germain to the British authorities regarding this case, in order to preserve the integrity of its competitions.”
PSG added that they “deplore” the timing of the final decision.
Aurier was applying for a Tier 2 Sportsperson visa, which allows an individual to stay in a country for up to three years and typically takes three weeks to process.
The defender, who has played 40 times for PSG since making his loan deal from Toulouse permanent last year, is accused of elbowing a police officer outside a Paris nightclub in May.
In addition to his suspended sentence, he was fined €600 (£521).
His side go into Wednesday’s meeting at Emirates Stadium second in Group A, level on 10 points with leaders Arsenal with both clubs assured of a place in the knockout stages.
Credit:BBC