Oakland: Somalian referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan has become the highest-profile World Cup victim of the United States’ border policies after being denied entry into the country.
An experienced match official who is accredited by the Confederation of African Football and FIFA, and has controlled top games at club and international level, Artan was the first referee from his country selected to work at a World Cup, and one of 52 on the original list for the tournament.
But Artan was turned away at the border after his flight from Istanbul to Miami. He had been in Turkey attending a mandatory FIFA seminar before leaving for Florida. He was barred from entry into the US despite holding both a valid visa and diplomatic passport issued by the Somalian government.
Last year, FIFA president Gianni Infantino said, despite widespread “misconception out there … everyone will be welcome in Canada, Mexico and the United States for the FIFA World Cup”.
A spokesperson for FIFA said Artan was no longer on the list of officials for the World Cup.
“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,” said the spokesperson.
“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.
“In line with previous FIFA events, a host government ultimately determines who receives a visa and who is admitted into their country.”
A statement from US Customs and Border Protection said a Somali national – later confirmed to be Artan – was not let in due to “vetting concerns”. The leader of the White House’s World Cup task force, Andrew Giuliani, told the BBC that it was the “right decision” and one he supported, while declining to go into details as to how it was reached.
Somalia is one of several countries on a travel ban list introduced by US President Donald Trump’s government. The Somali Football Federation has reportedly sought urgent clarification from FIFA.
Artan is not the only person involved with the World Cup to have faced issues at the border. Iran’s national team have shifted their base camp from Tucson, Arizona to Tijuana, Mexico after 14 members of their staff were denied US visas. The US State Department has said while players and essential support staff will be granted entry and exit for their games, it would not allow Iran to “abuse this system to sneak terrorists into the United States under false pretences.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said earlier this week the Iranian travelling party would be watched closely for people with ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
“We have no problem with the athletes, as we stated earlier, or their support staff,” Rubio said.
“But what we’re not going to allow is for them to embed in their delegation a bunch of people that we know have nothing to do with athletics and have ties to the IRGC or things of that nature. So we were going to watch that very closely, and we’ll continue to watch that very closely.”
Iran plays World Cup games against New Zealand on June 15 and Belgium on June 21 in Inglewood. The team finishes group play five days later in Seattle.
Meanwhile, Iraq striker Aymen Hussein was detained for nearly seven hours after landing in Chicago early on Saturday, but was eventually released to join the rest of his teammates. However, a team photographer was not allowed in, according to Reuters.
with Reuters
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