Guinean football player seeking trials with Scottish clubs loses appeal against refusal of UK visa

About this case:

• Citation:
  [2023] CSOH 13
• Judgment:
  External link
• Court:
  Court of Session Outer House
• Judge:
  Lady Carmichael

Mohammed Camara, who had been trying to obtain a UK visa since he was 18, argued that it was wrong for the Secretary of State to take into the account the fact that he had no written evidence of being offered a trial by any club. The respondent had refused previous applications on a number of occasions, with the present petition being directed against the latest such refusal on 27 January 2022.

The petition was heard by Lady Carmichael in the Outer House of the Court of Session. Caskie, advocate, appeared for the petitioner and Pirie KC for the respondent.

Commercial sensitivities

The petitioner had been attempting to obtain a UK visa since 2018 with the help of his football agent and sponsor, Mr John McKnight. Mr McKnight, whose first client was the petitioner, had deponed in an affidavit of November 2018 that he had had preliminary discussions with several named clubs in Scotland who stated they were happy to see Mr Camara play at an unpaid closed-door trial. In 2018, the petitioner was the subject of a documentary profiling exceptional up-and-coming African footballers.

In July 2021 the respondent wrote to the petitioner’s solicitors asking for evidence that the named clubs had invited him to a trial and evidence of his playing career to date. In response, his solicitors advised that such arrangements were not formal in nature and playing statistics were not routinely recorded at the level he had been playing at to date, further hampered by the pandemic putting a pause on sporting activity. It was stated that the documentary could be referred to for independent information concerning his abilities as a footballer.

It was submitted for the petitioner that it was a deliberate and normal practice for football clubs not to provide written evidence of trial offers because of commercial sensitivities concerning rival clubs. The Secretary of State had relied on Mr Camara’s failure to progress in his career, but that failure resulted from her earlier decisions to refuse his visa application.

For the Secretary of State it was submitted that Mr Camara had not provided information that she was looking for despite a request for that information. She was entitled to take into account the absence of evidence that should be readily available, and thus no material error of law had been demonstrated.

No credible explanation

In her decision, Lady Carmichael observed: “Mr Camara requires to demonstrate that it is not reasonable for the Secretary of State to have refused his application on the basis of the information before her. The question for her was whether she was satisfied that Mr Camara was genuinely seeking entry for the purpose of undergoing closed door trials. She provided clear notice to Mr Camara, in the email of 13 July 2021, of the matters about which she was concerned, and invited him to submit further material to address her concerns.”

She continued: “She was not bound to accept the information from Mr Camara, Mr McKnight and [documentary maker] Mr McBain, although she might have been entitled to do so. She was entitled to take into account the absence of independent supporting evidence when that would ordinarily be available and there is no credible explanation for its absence. Mr Camara provided no evidence to the Secretary of State that it is normal practice for football clubs not to provide written confirmation of having offered an individual a trial.”

Assessing the information given in support of the application, Lady Carmichael said: “None of the documents submitted in support of Mr Camara’s application names any team for which he has played. There is no mention of what position or positions he plays in. It is not unreasonable for the Secretary of State to require vouched detail about matters of that sort where an application is for entry clearance to undergo trials with professional clubs.”

She concluded: “The Secretary of State was entitled to regard the explanation for the absence of evidence about Mr Camara’s current or last team – that Mr Camara had returned to Guinea due to the Coronavirus pandemic and was therefore unable to produce letters from the football clubs he has played for – as unsatisfactory. It is not obvious from that explanation why he would have no documentary record of having played for particular clubs, or why his presence in Guinea would necessarily prevent him or his solicitors from approaching those clubs for a letter confirming that he had played for them.”

The petition was therefore refused.