Somalian referee denied entry to the United States for World Cup speaks out

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Martin Macdonald | Writer

Content writer covering football, formula 1 and movies

A Somalian referee who was denied entry into the United States for the 2026 World Cup has reacted to his banishment from the tournament, insisting he had the proper paperwork to be allowed in the country.

Omar Artan was set to become the first man from his nation to take part in a World Cup match either as a player of an official but after an 11-hour immigration interview in Miami he was sent home.

After refereeing two matches at the recent Africa Cup of Nations and earning the title of Africa's best male referee last year, Artan was named a FIFA match official for the World Cup. The achievement prompted Somali President Hassan Mohamud to praise him as "a symbol of inspiration for the new generation of Somalis."

The 34-year-old could potentially have refereed games in Mexico or Canada, but the referees' training camp, hosted by Pierluigi Collina, is being held in Florida which means he can't attend.

"I am very, very disappointed," Artan told the New York Times, external. "I'm just simply a referee who's trying to live his dream - the biggest dream of my life, to come to the World Cup.

"I had the right papers and everything. I had the right visa."

Fifa said in response:

"Fifa can confirm that match official Omar Abdulkadir Artan will be unable to train and officiate at the Fifa World Cup 2026 after he was denied entry into the United States.

"Fifa is not involved in host country immigration processes, including visa adjudications, and has been informed by authorities that Mr Artan's status will not be changed at present."

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Andrew Giuliani, who leads the White House Task Force on the World Cup, insisted it was the right decision to deny Artan entry but didn't go into specifics: "While I can't go into the derog [derogatory information] on that I can tell you it was the right decision by customs and border patrol and I support that decision."

President Donald Trump's crackdown on immigration has been a major talking point around the World Cup as players and officials from various nations have had either their visas or Esta applications denied, on some occasions at the last minute.

Switzerland striker Breel Embolo was about to board a plane to North America when his visa was revoked, while a large number of Iranian officials have been denied entry to the United States completely, amid the ongoing war in the Middle East.

In December, Trump said he does not want Somali immigrants in the USA, telling reporters they should "go back to where they came from" and "their country is no good for a reason".

"I don't want them in our country, I'll be honest with you," he said during a cabinet meeting. He then said the US would "go the wrong way if we keep taking in garbage into our country".

Former England and Arsenal striker Ian Wright, now a pundit, has called the tournament a "World Cup of chaos", saying in a video on Instagram: "Every few hours, it's another story about fans denied, player denied, officials denied, journalists denied, now refs.

"I'm laughing but it's not funny. It's actually not funny and something has to be said. The most expensive tickets ever, expensive accommodation, transport through the roof.

"Is this how the hosts behave for the greatest game, the greatest tournament in the world? Are we not hearing more? Are we seeing how Qatar got dragged, are we not hearing more? Is this the spirit of football, really?

"I feel for the American fans who are desperate for this - how embarrassing for them this must be.

"This is a World Cup of chaos."