Historic debut failed?
World Cup referee denied entry to the USA
June 8, 2026 – 8:04 p.mReading time: 1 min.
He should have been the first referee in his country to referee World Cup games. The plan could fail because of a political decision.
The Somali referee Omar Artan has failed to enter the World Cup co-host country USA. As a representative of the Somali Ministry of Sports told the AFP news agency on Monday, Artan was refused entry at Miami International Airport. The 34-year-old had a valid visa.
The reasons for this were initially unclear. But: Somalia is on the entry ban list introduced by US President Donald Trump. Artan went back to Istanbul.
Ciise Aden Abshir commented on the incident. The senior adviser to Somalia’s Ministry of Youth and Sports and former national team captain told AFP: “Denying him entry to the United States and preventing him from officiating scheduled matches not only harms him personally, but also undermines football’s commitment to fairness, performance and the spirit of fair play,” Abshir said.
Artan should have been his country’s first referee at a World Cup. The 34-year-old is one of the 52 referees nominated by the world association FIFA for the World Cup in the USA, Mexico and Canada. The tournament begins on Thursday with the opening game between Mexico and South Africa.