“I was Questioned for 11 Hours”: Somali Referee Omar Artan Speaks Out After U.S. Entry Denial
MIAMI, June 9, 2026 – What was meant to be a career-defining trip to the World Cup instead ended at Miami International Airport, where Somali referee Omar Artan says he was detained, questioned for 11 hours and ultimately denied entry to the United States over concerns tied to his country’s politics and militancy.
Artan, who was poised to become the first Somali official ever to referee at a World Cup tournament, told The New York Times that border authorities held him through an extended interrogation before sending him away.
He said that even though he had a valid visa and all required paperwork, agents pressed him on why he was traveling to the US and repeatedly questioned him about Somali politics and the Al-Shabaab jihadist group.
“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,” Artan told the newspaper, adding, “I think that they have a problem with my country.”
According to Artan, he showed officials FIFA documents confirming his role as well as photographs from his refereeing career. He said that instead of being admitted, he was put in a holding cell and later placed on a flight back to Istanbul, where he had originally transited.
The referee said U.S. authorities never explained why he was removed.
US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) later said Artan was found inadmissible because of unspecified “vetting concerns.” The agency did not provide further details.
The episode is a painful setback for a figure whose selection was seen as a milestone for Somali football, coming from a country in the Horn of Africa that has endured years of conflict and political turmoil.
AXADLETM
