Boca Juniors defender Ayrton Costa may have to sit out the inaugural FIFA Club World Cup in the United States after he was twice refused permission to enter the country. 

The 25-year-old player, who started for the Xeneize in the Superclásico, has been refused a visa as he’s involved in two ongoing judicial proceedings. 

The first is a 2018 case, where he was accused of robbing a house in Bernal, Buenos Aires Province. In 2023, he agreed to a probation period to avoid trial. In the same year, he was involved in the femicide case of his brother’s partner. Costa wasn’t formally accused, but the woman’s family accused him of covering the crime up.

Boca requested a special grant for his visa, which has twice been rejected by the U.S. immigration officials. A club spokesperson confirmed to the Herald that Boca has reached out to FIFA, looking for world football’s governing body to intervene and facilitate the granting of Costa’s visa. With the U.S. introducing harsher immigration controls since the election of President Donald Trump, Boca’s chances of overcoming the rejection look slim.

His case is not without precedent. In 2023, the US refused a visa to 12 players from Haitian football club Violette when they matched up against Austin FC in that year’s Concachampions, forcing the club — who arrived with just 10 players — to hire replacements inside the country. They went on to beat Austin 3-2 on aggregate.

Boca is set to debut in the Club World Cup on June 16, when they face off against Portugal’s Benfica in the first game of Group C. 

The 2025 Club World Cup will be the first tournament hosted with the new format. Previously it was a seven-team competition, played yearly by the winners of the six top continental competitions like CONMEBOL’s Copa Libertadores and the UEFA Champions league. Boca and superclásico rivals River Plate will be Argentina’s representatives at the tournament.

In 2019, FIFA announced it was changing into a 32-teams tournament every four years. The competing sides will be divided into eight four-team groups, facing each other only once. The top two clubs in each group qualify to the knockout stage.