Antonio was welcomed to Ghana by a group of West Ham supporters
Jamaican and West Ham United winger Michail Antonio has shared a bizarre yet comical story of how his trip to Ghana made him miss out on the Reggae Boys’ matches during the November international break.
Speaking on the Rest Is Football podcast with ex-English stars Gary Lineker and Micah Richards, Michail Antonio detailed that some issues with his passport and visa meant that he had to spend more time in Ghana than he had actually planned.
Antonio narrated that he had misplaced his British passport prior to traveling to Ghana but never bothered to find it or get a replacement because he assumed traveling with his Jamaican passport would not be a problem.
However, he had the shock of his life and the uncomfortable experience of delaying his stay in Ghana after he was stopped by Ghanaian officials at Kotoka International Airport. They informed him that he needed a United Kingdom visa to travel back to the country as he was without his UK passport.
“I lost my UK passport before I left for Ghana, but I didn’t think it was going to be an issue for me to get back to the UK. So I decided to fly with my Jamaican passport to Ghana to check out my academy and then fly to Jamaica.
“I got to Ghana for three days and did all the media work and everything I was supposed to do. I got to the airport to fly back to the UK and Jamaica, and they were like, ‘Where is your visa?’ I asked, ‘Visa for what?’ and they said I needed a visa to get back to the UK. I was like, ‘I don’t need a visa because I’m English and I don’t need a visa to travel to my country.’ They said I had a Jamaican passport, so I needed a visa to go to the UK.
“As a result, I got stuck in Ghana for two extra days and got an emergency passport to get back to the UK. I wasn’t able to sort out a visa to travel to America because I couldn’t get a visa on my Jamaican passport. That is how I missed my second game,” he said.
Antonio, it will be recalled, visited Ghana on November 11, 2024. While in Ghana, Antonio visited his academy, Samba Stars, which is in the Ashanti Region.
In his absence, Jamaica lost their doubleheader against the United States of America in the quarter-final of the CONCAF Nations League. They lost 0-1 at home and got thumped 4-2 in the reverse fixture.
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