Somali referee Omar Artan has spoken out after being denied entry to the United States ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026, insisting he carried the correct documentation.
Artan was set to become the first Somali referee to officiate at a World Cup finals before being barred at Miami International Airport.
He was subjected to an 11-hour immigration interview before ultimately being refused entry and placed in a holding cell for several additional hours.
He was then put on a flight back to Istanbul, Turkey, ending his hopes of participating in the tournament.
“I had the right papers and everything. I had the right visa,” Artan said, expressing his disbelief at the situation that unfolded at the airport.
Somalia is among several nations listed under a travel ban introduced by President Donald Trump’s administration, though no official reason for Artan’s repatriation has been provided by US immigration authorities.
“I am very, very disappointed,” Artan told the New York Times. “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.”
FIFA confirmed his removal from the tournament’s list of officials following consultations with US authorities, releasing a statement on the matter.
“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,” the governing body said.
FIFA also clarified its own position, stating: “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.”
A senior adviser to Somalia’s ministry of youth and sports confirmed the denial of entry to the BBC, adding that Artan had been travelling with valid documents throughout.
A Somali embassy official in Nairobi told the BBC that Artan’s diplomatic passport had been issued specifically to ease his travel after earlier visa difficulties.
Andrew Giuliani, who leads the White House Task Force on the World Cup, offered a brief response when pressed on the decision by BBC World Service.
“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,” Giuliani said.
Artan himself suggested the broader political climate was a factor, saying: “I think that they have a problem with my country.”
In December, Trump told reporters he does not want Somali immigrants in the US, and they should “go back to where they came from.”
Referees’ chief Pierluigi Collina has established a training hub in Miami for the tournament’s 52 referees and 88 assistant referees, with all officials required to remain at the Florida base.
That requirement makes it impossible for Artan to remain in the tournament by only officiating matches held in Canada or Mexico.
Artan became a FIFA referee in 2018 and has previously officiated at the Africa Cup of Nations, having worked as an official in the Somali National League.
Former England striker and pundit Ian Wright has since labelled the tournament a “World Cup of chaos” in a video posted to Instagram, saying: “Every few hours, it’s another story about fans denied, player denied, officials denied, journalists denied, now refs.”
Wright continued: “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.”
Artan’s case is among several controversies to hit the tournament, with Iran’s football federation also stating on Tuesday that their allocation of fan tickets for the group stage has been revoked.
The World Cup runs from 11 June to 19 July across the United States, Canada and Mexico.
