Former World Heavyweight Boxing Champion Mike Tyson may be banned from entering Ireland because he was convicted and jailed for three years for raping a beauty queen.
Tyson’s one man show, The Undisputed Truth, was due to arrive in Ireland in on March 27th 2014. Premium tickets worth €156 have already sold out. The show is directed by multi award winning Hollywood director Spike Lee and has been a huge success on Broadway and has toured many American cities.
However, Tyson may not be allowed into the country under Irish immigration laws because of his previous convictions. He was once known as the ‘Baddest man on the planet’ and has a long list of convictions including assault, cocaine possession and driving under the influence.
However, it is his most serious crime that has cast doubts over whether he will be allowed to enter Ireland. In 1992, he was jailed for three years for raping a teenage beauty queen.
Under Irish law, any non EU citizen who has spent more than 12 months in prison can be refused entry to the country.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Justice said: “We would not comment on the details of an individual case but that’s the law and it’s the same for everybody.
“That’s the law as it stands. There’s that authority that empowers them to refuse entry to anyone if they have been convicted of an offence and imprisoned for more than a year.”
It follows news that the boxer had to cancel a show in London after being refused entry into the UK.
The spokeswoman refused to say whether the department had come to a decision about Tyson at this point.