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The Somali referee denied entry to the United States for the World Cup has claimed he was turned away despite having the right visa after speaking out on his heartbreak at missing the tournament.
Omar Abdulkadir Artan, who has been acclaimed as the best official in Africa, was dropped from FIFA’s list for the tournament after the American authorities refused him permission to enter the country at Miami International Airport.
Instead, the 34-year-old was sent on a flight back to Turkey, where he had transited through after traveling from Kenya, bringing his World Cup dream crashing down.
In his first interview since the ordeal, Artan told The New York Times over the phone from Istanbul, the city he had been flown to after he was denied entry: ‘I am very, very disappointed. 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,’ he added, while claiming that he also showed documentation from FIFA and photographs of his career of over a decade as a professional referee to border officials.
They also checked online material about his career, said Artan – who was named referee of the year in 2025 by the Confederation of African Football.
The Somali referee denied entry to the US for the World Cup has claimed he had the right visa
Omar Abdulkadir Artan, who has been acclaimed as the best official in Africa, was dropped from FIFA’s list for the tournament after American authorities refused to grant him entry
The official claims his immigration interview ended after 11 hours, before he was taken to a separate holding cell. He was detained there for several more hours before being put on a flight back to Istanbul, despite officials not giving him a reason for denying him entry to the US.
‘I think that they have a problem with my country,’ Artan added.
US Customs and Border Protection said in a statement: ‘The traveler underwent additional inspection, a routine part of C.B.P.’s inspection process when officers need to verify information or determine admissibility.
‘Following inspection, the traveler, a referee for the FIFA World Cup, was determined to be inadmissible due to vetting concerns and was denied entry.’
Artan explained that he is returning to the Somali capital of Mogadishu on Wednesday. He had been preparing for the World Cup for the past four years, which required him to take courses with FIFA in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
FIFA initially confirmed last week that Artan’s visa situation had been ‘fully resolved and he will now be available to officiate at the FIFA World Cup’.
But on Monday night the governing body released a statement, reading: ‘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.
Artan is pictured arm-in-arm with FIFA referees’ committee chairman Pierluigi Collina
‘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.’
Somalia features on President Trump’s travel ban list and last month he said ‘they’re all crooks’ of Somali immigrants in America. In January he called the nation ‘the worst country in the world’.
America has also refused to issue visas to some members of Iran’s staff for the World Cup. Iran players were able to land in Mexico at the weekend while honoring the 168 school children killed in February’s missile strike.
