One of Africa’s top match officials, a Somalian Referee, Omar Abdulkadir Artan has broken his silence after being barred from entering the United States for the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup.
It was gathered that the Somalian referee denied U. S visa entry at Miami International Airport despite having valid papers.
The referee, Omar Abdulkadir Artan, was one of 52 selected for this summer’s World Cup in North America. He was one of seven African referees to be chosen for the tournament and would have been the first Somali to referee a World Cup game.
Artan was stopped by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers after arriving on a flight from Istanbul, Turkey.
Despite possessing what Somali officials confirmed was a valid visa and a diplomatic passport designed to ease his transit, Artan was turned away following a rigorous secondary screening.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement that decisions were made on a case-by-case basis and did not provide details about why Mr. Artan had been denied entry.
“The traveler underwent additional inspection, a routine part of C.B.P.’s inspection process when officers need to verify information or determine admissibility,” the statement said.
“Following inspection, the traveler, a referee for the FIFA World Cup, was determined to be inadmissible due to vetting concerns and was denied entry.”
Speaking with the press, the Somalian referee claimed that he was denied entry due to his nationality.
He said the U.S has a ‘problem’ with his country.
Artan said, “I think that they have a problem with my country,” adding that he would return to the Somali capital, Mogadishu, on Wednesday. He said that he had been preparing for the World Cup for four years, taking courses with FIFA in Qatar and in the United Arab Emirates.
“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,” he added.
“I had the right papers and everything. I had the right visa,” Artan said, adding that he had also shown documentation from FIFA as well as photographs of his career of over a decade as a professional referee. Border officials also checked online material detailing Mr. Artan’s career, he said. He was named referee of the year in 2025 by the Confederation of African Football, which governs soccer in Africa.
It would be recalled that the administration of United States President Donald Trump had imposed travel and visa restrictions on Somalia, and it was not clear whether FIFA had sought clearance for Artan to enter the United States.
Meanwhile, FIFA, in its reaction said: “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.”
Pan-Atlantic Kompass reports that the strict immigration landscape of the U.S has triggered high-profile travel disasters across several continents.
The most prominent diplomatic fallout involves the Iranian national team. While visas for the 26-man playing squad were approved at the last minute, the U.S. denied visas to 15 key administrative, executive, and technical staff members, citing security vetting and IRGC affiliations. In protest, Iran was forced to relocate its pre-tournament training base from Arizona to Tijuana, Mexico, requiring players to cross the border just for match days.
