Omar Artan, the number one referee from Africa, will not officiate at the 2026 World Cup. The Somali official flew into Miami to join 51 other referees but was subjected to an 11-hour grilling by US immigration officials, detained in a holding cell, and put back on a plane – despite holding the correct documents.
Artan's alleged crime, the Mirror's editorial said, "appears to be the country stamped on his passport." The treatment was described as "a disgrace that FIFA needs to own."
“Somali referee Omar Artan was denied entry to the US for the World Cup after an 11-hour interrogation despite holding correct documents.”
Just last year Artan became the first Somali to take charge of a continental final – the second leg of Pyramids FC's African Champions League victory over Mamelodi Sundowns. He then officiated three matches at the U-20 World Cup in Chile, including the third-place play-off, and two group games at the Africa Cup of Nations.
"Every referee's ambition is to go to the World Cup," Artan told BBC Somali last week. "When you are selected, you feel that all your hard work was worth it. Years of effort finally made sense."
He should have become the first Somali to officiate at a World Cup. Instead, Piara Powar, executive director of discrimination campaign group Fare, said: "It is pretty clear that the fears of an ideological and discriminatory visa policy from the US government is being realised. Never have we seen the farce of an official Fifa referee being refused entry as he arrives for final preparations."
With 48 hours until kick-off, concerns also surround potential ICE presence at stadiums and how fans could be affected. The build-up has already been dogged by the astronomical cost of tickets, a subpoena over ticket practices, and criticism of Fifa over hotel and transport prices. The Mirror argued that the World Cup "risks becoming a symbol of division" – a far cry from the tournament meant to bring the world together.
Does Fifa, which has ingratiated itself with President Donald Trump, have little control over what happens outside the stadiums?