West Ham United have submitted a complaint to FIFA after alleging DR Congo did not sanction Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s release to return to his club ahead of their FA Cup quarter-final tie against Leeds United, nytimes.com reports.
The 27-year-old right-back missed his side’s penalty shootout loss on Sunday after helping DR Congo qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1974.
The African nation defeated Jamaica in the intercontinental playoff final in Mexico, before returning to its capital Kinshasa to celebrate with president Felix Tshisekedi.
Sources with knowledge of the situation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect relationships, say West Ham did not give Wan-Bissaka permission to stay in DR Congo for the celebrations. Sources say the club had a flight scheduled for the defender to travel back to London, but he did not turn up.
Wan-Bissaka, who joined from Manchester United for £15million August 2024 on a seven-year deal, switched his international allegiance from England, for whom he never made a senior appearance, to DR Congo and played nine times for the nation since September.
The defender has registered three assists in 22 Premier League appearances for West Ham this season. He was named the club’s player of the year in 2024-25 and has been first-choice under head coach Nuno Espirito Santo.
Kyle Walker-Peters, who signed upon the expiry of his contract at Southampton last summer, deputised at right-back against Leeds in Wan-Bissaka’s absence. He is expected to return to action for this Friday’s all-important league game against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
West Ham are in the relegation zone, one point behind 17th-place Tottenham Hotspur. Victory for Nuno’s side could see Tottenham drop into the bottom three for the first time this season.
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