Tommy Fury says he has no idea why US agents stopped him at London’s Heathrow Airport.
According to a story on his Instagram page Tommy Fury was prevented from boarding a flight to the US at London’s Heathrow Airport today. Fury said that he was pulled aside by US agents and told he knew the reason why he was barred from entering the US.
“So I just want to come on here and set the record straight before anyone else tries to,” he said (ht ESPN). “Me and my team this morning arrived at Heathrow Airport ready for the press conference, ready to fly out.
“As soon as I entered the airport I got pulled to one side and I was told by a homeland security officer that was there that my ESTA [travel permit] had been denied and I wasn’t able to travel to the USA for a reason that I apparently know.
“I can stand here and say I’ve done absolutely nothing wrong and I have no clue why I am not allowed to travel to the USA.
Like I say I’ve been training for a fight for this whole time, and that’s all I’ve been doing. I have no clue why they would not allow me to travel today, and neither does any of my team or my lawyers.
“Now I’m having to go to embassies and all this sort of stuff to try and resolve it, and I’m in the middle of training guys.
“I don’t know why this has happened today it’s a massive shock to me and my whole team. Obviously, it’s a matter that needs to be resolved, it’s government issues. You know it’s a lot bigger than the fight right now and I’m just trying to get it sorted.”
Fury’s failed attempt to fly to the US comes after his older brother Tyson Fury was also prevented from flying to the US, on two separate occasions.
These incidents come after the US government sanctioned Daniel Kinahan, the man they believe operates the Kinahan Organised Crime Group — a billion dollar weapons and narcotics smuggling outfit.
The US government has forbidden US individuals and companies from doing business with Kinahan. They have also authorized a $5 million reward for information leading to his arrest, prosecution and conviction.
The US has also imposed travel bans on hundreds of people accused of having connections to Kinahan.
Tyson Fury has a long association with Kinahan. Kinahan founded the company that would become MTK Global. MTK Global represented Fury, and many other top boxing and MMA stars, until it folded two months ago in reaction to the sanctions against Kinahan.
Despite MTK claiming Kinahan stopped working with the company in 2017, Fury—and many other fighters—continued to be pictured with Kinahan and express their fondness for him.
Fury publicly thanked Kinahan in 2020 for negotiating his contracts to fight Anthony Joshua. Fury was pictured with Kinahan touring a Dubai gym in February.
It is believed that Kinahan resides in Dubai, having fled there in 2016 after an attempt was made on his life in Dublin. That attempt, known as the Regency Hotel Shooting, targeted a boxing weigh-in show for Macklin’s Gym Marbella (the company that would become MTK).