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6 months ago
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Australian Matildas star Katrina Gorry has claimed she was barred from hiring a car by a UK company under a strange policy that targets athletes.
The West Ham United midfielder had returned to the UK from her home in Sweden, leaving behind her fiancée Clara Markstedt and daughter Harper.
Despite having a booking, she was denied access to the car hire service by company Green Motion Car.
Gorry - who is battling a serious injury that threatens to ruin her Olympics dream - claims she was rejected because she is a professional athlete.
Gorry had travelled to the UK from Sweden, leaving behind her fiancee Clara Markstedt and daughter Harper (pictured together)
The Matildas star posted this to Instagram, demanding the car hire company provide answers
Gorry (pictured with Markstedt and daughter Harper) is not the only professional athlete who has been denied by car hire companies
'Okay guys, I'm absolutely fuming,' she wrote.
'After leaving my pregnant fiance and daughter in Sweden, I had to come back to the UK for a few days.
'I booked a car through @greenmotioncar. When I got there, they said my booking had been cancelled.
'So I stood there and rebooked. When I finally sat down and they found my booking, they lady said 'sorry we can't let you hire the car because you're an athlete'.
'Like what the actual? Are athletes not humans? Do athletes not need to hire cars?'
The 31-year-old (pictured playing in last year's World Cup) is currently battling a serious ankle injury that threatens to ruin her dream of representing Australia at the Olympics
The Green Motion Car website states that a full driving licence, valid passport, valid credit card in the driver’s name and a booking voucher from Green Motion Car or a supplier partner are the minimum, mandatory documents required to hire a vehicle.
There is no mention of restrictions being applied to athletes.
Green Motion Car has been contacted for comment.
Gorry's bizarre rejection is not a once-off event, however.
In 2023, professional golfer Billy Horschel was also denied a hire car on the grounds that he was an athlete.
The seven-time PGA Tour winner revealed that car hire company SIXT refused him a vehicle at Edinburgh Airport in July last year.
Golfer Billy Horschel - who has won seven PGA Tour titles - couldn't get a hire car last year
Max Verstappen is a two-time F1 world champion but a car hire company still wouldn't trust him with a high-performance vehicle
Strangely, the company then apologised and denied such a policy existed.
'Hello Billy, we are sorry to hear that. We have never heard of a policy that we do not rent to a specific group. Can you please send us a message so that we can further investigate this?' the company replied.
Even Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen has been denied a hire car, although for different reasons.
He tried to renta Mercedes AMG GT from car rental firm SIXT to take on holiday, but was denied because he was too young.
The company claimed the insurance policy only covered drivers over 30.
SIXT has regularly partnered with sporting events and teams, including the Melbourne Tigers basketball team in Australia and the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup that was held in 2022 in Sydney.
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