The 2026 FIFA World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, has been hit by another high-profile controversy after Somali referee Omar Artan – set to make history as the first Somali official to work a World Cup finals – was denied entry to the US and removed from the tournament’s officiating roster.
Artan, a FIFA-listed referee since 2018 with prior experience officiating at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, says he completed an grueling 11-hour immigration interview at Miami International Airport before being detained in a holding cell for several hours and ultimately repatriated on a flight back to Istanbul. The referee told reporters he carried all required documentation, including a specifically issued diplomatic passport arranged after earlier travel complications and a valid US visa aligned with World Cup requirements.
“I am very, very disappointed,” Artan told the New York Times. “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 think that they have a problem with my country.”
To date, US immigration authorities have not released any public explanation for the entry denial. Somalia is one of the Muslim-majority nations included in a travel restriction first implemented by the Trump administration, and President Trump reaffirmed his anti-immigrant stance toward Somalis just months ago, telling reporters Somali immigrants should “go back to where they came from.”
FIFA confirmed Artan’s removal from the roster in an official statement earlier this week, noting that global governing body has no authority over host country immigration processes. “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,” the statement read. “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.”
Senior advisors with Somalia’s Ministry of Youth and Sports and embassy officials based in Nairobi have both corroborated Artan’s account, confirming all of his travel documentation was valid and issued in accordance with US entry requirements for World Cup officials.
Andrew Giuliani, who leads the White House Task Force for the 2026 World Cup, defended US Customs and Border Protection’s decision in comments to BBC World Service. “While I can’t go into the derogatory information on that I can tell you it was the right decision by customs and border patrol and I support that decision,” Giuliani said.
The structure of the 2026 tournament leaves Artan no alternative path to participate: FIFA’s lead referee official Pierluigi Collina has centralized all 52 referees and 88 assistant referees at a training and preparation hub in Miami, requiring all on-pitch officials to remain based in Florida for the duration of pre-tournament preparations and the event itself. Allowing Artan to only officiate matches held in Canada or Mexico is not permitted under tournament logistics rules.
Artan’s exclusion is just the latest in a string of disruptions that have marred the lead-up to the 2026 World Cup, which kicks off June 11 and runs through July 19. Just one day after Artan’s removal, Iran’s national football federation announced that all of its allocated fan tickets for the team’s group stage matches had been revoked by tournament organizers.
Prominent British football pundit and former England striker Ian Wright has labeled the ongoing string of issues a “World Cup of chaos” in a viral Instagram video. “Every few hours, it’s another story about fans denied, player denied, officials denied, journalists denied, now refs,” Wright said. “I’m laughing but it’s not funny. The most expensive tickets ever, expensive accommodation, transport through the roof. Is this how the hosts behave for the greatest game, the greatest tournament in the world? I feel for the American fans who are desperate for this – how embarrassing for this must be for them.”