Boca Juniors' Ayrton Costa to miss Club World Cup after U.S. denies visa for Argentine defender

Boca Juniors defender Ayrton Costa will not be able to play at the Club World Cup after being denied a visa by U.S. authorities. The 25-year-old center back was included on the initial 35-man squad that traveled to the United States, where they begin their campaign against Benfica on Monday.

Costa was reportedly involved in an attempted robbery case in 2018 for which he accepted a probationary sentence to avoid trial. Criminal convictions can lead to visas being turned down by American border agents.

"We can confirm Ayrton Costa is set to miss the Club World Cup with Boca," a club spokesperson told Reuters. "The defender was due to travel on Wednesday night ... but did not obtain the visa."

Costa would have been in contention to start for Miguel Russo's side in their Group B opener, which is followed by games against Bayern Munich and Auckland City. A January signing from Belgian side Antwerp, Costa played Boca's final game of the season against his former club Independiente. Marco Pellegrino, a new signing from Milan, is also recovering his fitness, opening the door for former Manchester United defender Marcos Rojo to start Boca's first in 18 years.