Somali referee Omar Artan says he was subjected to an 11-hour immigration interview before being denied entry to the United States for the World Cup despite holding the “right papers” and “right visa”.
Artan, who was set to be the first Somali to referee at a World Cup finals, was dropped from the list of officials on Monday after he was barred from entering the country at Miami International Airport.
No reason for Artan’s repatriation has been issued by US immigration authorities, but Somalia is one of several countries on a travel ban list introduced by President Donald Trump’s administration.
After speaking to the US authorities, world governing body Fifa said Artan will miss the tournament.
“I am very, very disappointed,” Artan told the New York Times, external. “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.”
A Fifa statement on the decision said: “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 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.”
A senior adviser to Somalia’s ministry of youth and sports confirmed the denial of entry to the BBC and said Artan had been travelling with valid documents.
A Somali embassy official in Nairobi told the BBC that Artan’s diplomatic passport had been issued specifically to ease his travel after earlier visa difficulties.
“I had the right papers and everything. I had the right visa,” said Artan.
Following the 11-hour immigration interview, Artan said he was then taken to a separate holding cell where he was detained for several hours before being put on a flight back to Istanbul, Turkey.
Speaking to BBC World Service, Andrew Giuliani, who leads the White House Task Force on the World Cup, said: “While I can’t go into the derog [derogatory information] on that I can tell you it was the right decision by customs and border patrol and I support that decision.”
It would not be possible for Artan to stay outside the United States and only referee matches played in Canada or Mexico.
Referees’ chief Pierluigi Collina has created a training hub for the tournament’s 52 referees and 88 assistant referees in Miami.
All on-pitch officials must stay at the base in Florida for training, preparation and security.
In December, Trump told reporters he does not want Somali immigrants in the US, and they should “go back to where they came from”.
“I think that they have a problem with my country,” Artan added.
