Eredivisie football club Vitesse has apologised to ‘everyone who feels involved’ in the club’s decision to attend a winter training camp in Abu Dhabi without defender Dan Mori.

The club came under fire for leaving Mori behind after he was denied entry to the United Arab Emirates. It later transpired there is confusion about whether the club ever requested a visa for the Israeli player.

Vitesse says it had verbal confirmation Mori would be allowed in but the UAE embassy in the Netherlands said it never had a visa request for him. Foreign minister Frans Timmermans also said he would have been willing to help.

Statement

‘The decision to travel to Abu Dhabi without Mori is understandable but unfortunate,’ the club’s management said in a statement on the website.

‘In retrospect, different organisations have said there were options to make it possible to travel to the UAE with Mori, who is Israeli. The complexity around organising travel to countries with specific entry procedures in a short space of time meant not all the options were utilised.’

‘Vitesse regrets the commotion and offers apologies to everyone who feels in any way affected by the decision to exclude Mori.’

The club has also said it, the Dutch football association KNVB and the foreign ministry will look at how to prevent similar instances in the future.