FIFA confirm US has banned World Cup referee days before tournament | Football | Sport

FIFA have confirmed to the Express that World Cup referee Omar Artan has been refused entry into the United States of America. Artan, a Somali national, was chosen as one of Africa’s referee representatives for the tournament.

He was picked as one of the continent’s delegates by the Confederation of African Football, having presided over numerous matches in the Africa Cup of Nations. In December, Somalia was among 12 nations designated as ‘high risk’ by the US government, which imposed travel restrictions and entry limitations on individuals from those countries. While obtaining a visa for the tournament proved troublesome, it was widely believed he would ultimately be permitted to enter the USA for the competition.

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The Somali embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, intervened to assist him and successfully secured a diplomatic passport to allow him entry into the USA, according to reports. Following this development, FIFA declared that the official’s visa situation had been “fully resolved” and that he’d be “available to officiate at the FIFA World Cup”.

Having journeyed from Nairobi, through Turkey and on to Miami, it is now understood he was refused entry into the USA and has since returned to Istanbul, with FIFA confirming to the Express that the referee will now not be taking part in 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,” FIFA said in a statement.

“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.”

Artan was one of eight referees selected by CAF to officiate at the tournament. They are joined by eight representatives from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), one from the Oceania Football Confederation, 12 from Conmebol and 15 from UEFA.

It remains unclear who will step in to replace Artan, should FIFA fail to persuade the US government to reverse their decision. This could prove an uphill battle given President Donald Trump’s well-documented hostility towards Somalia.

Since returning to the White House, Trump has ordered air strikes against the nation, citing the presence of militants linked to the so-called Islamic State in Africa. He has also taken aim at Somali communities living within the USA, most notably in the state of Minnesota.

While ICE were conducting operations in the state, Trump told reporters that Somalians living in the USA should “go back to where they came from” and that “their country is no good for a reason”.

He further stated: “I don’t want them in our country. I’ll be honest with you, OK. Somebody will say, ‘Oh, that’s not politically correct.’ I don’t care. I don’t want them in our country.

“With Somalia, which is barely a country, you know, they have no, they have no anything. They just run around killing each other. There’s no structure.”