Well-known Aussie media personality banned from the US ahead of World Cup

By MATT JONES, SENIOR NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA Published: 11:08, 30 May 2026 | Updated: 11:11, 30 May 2026 A well-known Australian media figure has been banned from travelling to the United States weeks before the football World Cup. Channel 9 newsreader Tom Steinfort planned a trip to the US for next month's World Cup but has been forced to cancel flights and give away tickets after his visa was refused. Steinfort, a journalist for 60 Minutes, had to reveal what countries he had recently visited as part of the application process. 'As soon as they got on the page showing North Korea, Afghanistan, Cuba, it was a no,' Steinfort said. Steinfort was sent to those regions for work and didn't think it would be a problem when applying for a visa. 'They didn't put that in the brochure, I never thought I'd be banned...the home of democracy,' he said. 'I've been banned from the UAE, China, Saudi Arabia, Thailand. That's how it is. 'You go through a formal interview process and I got the tickets in the ballot and now I have to flog them off.' 60 Minutes reporter Tom Steinfort was banned from entering the US to watch the football World Cup because he had gone to North Korea, Afghanistan and Cuba recently US President Donald Trump has been critical of the tournament  Steinfort and wife Claudia Jukic Steinfort will now go to Canada to watch Australia's first match against Turkey in Vancouver on June 13. 'I'm going with my three brothers and some mates,' he said. 'Forty-eight hours on the ground, otherwise I'd be stuck there on my own.' The World Cup has been criticised for its expensive ticket prices. Category 3 tickets, the lowest price available to most fans due to the tiny availability of Category 4 seats, stand at $1,120 (A$1553) for the USA's opening group game against Paraguay. US President Trump quipped this week: 'I would certainly like to be there, but I wouldn't pay it either, to be honest with you.' The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.