Somali referee Omar Artan returns home after U.S. entry denial ends World Cup role

Wednesday June 10, 2026

Istanbul (AX) — What was meant to be a landmark moment for Somali football ended in disappointment on Tuesday, when referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan returned to Somalia after being barred from entering the United States and missing out on what would have been a historic World Cup assignment.

Artan traveled back from Istanbul, where U.S. border officials had sent him after refusing him entry at Miami International Airport over the weekend. In Mogadishu, preparations were under way to receive him home.

Speaking to reporters at Istanbul Airport before boarding a Turkish Airlines flight to Somalia, Artan thanked FIFA, the Confederation of African Football and Somalis for standing by him.

“I wanted to thank FIFA for supporting me all the way and the Somali people also. So I am very grateful for FIFA and CAF (Confederation of African Football) also. So this is what I have to say.”

Selected as one of FIFA’s 52 referees for the 2026 World Cup, Artan told The New York Times that the appointment represented far more than a personal milestone. For him, it was also a chance to show what Somalis can accomplish despite the hardships their country has endured.

“I am very, very disappointed,” Mr. Artan said in a telephone interview from Istanbul, the city he had been flown to after he was refused entry. “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 said he arrived in Miami on Saturday, five days before the opening match, only to be pulled aside by border officers and questioned through the night in a small room. He said he had a valid visa and all FIFA paperwork in order, and that he also presented evidence of his work as a referee.

“I had the right papers and everything. I had the right visa,” Mr. Artan said, adding that he had also showed documentation from FIFA as well as photographs of his career of over a decade as a professional referee. Border officials also checked online material detailing Mr. Artan’s career, he said. He was named referee of the year in 2025 by the Confederation of African Football, which governs soccer in Africa.

He said the interview stretched for 11 hours before he was moved to a holding cell for several more hours and then put on a flight back to Istanbul. Artan said no official reason was given for the refusal.

The Somali Football Federation said Tuesday that it deeply regretted the decision and had not received any formal explanation. It called for patience until the full circumstances are clear.

U.S. officials have said the screening process for World Cup participants is designed to protect safety and security at the tournament.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security previously told Al Jazeera that Artan was “determined to be inadmissible due to vetting concerns and was denied entry,” without providing further details.

FIFA has said Artan will not be able to train or officiate at the World Cup because his U.S. entry status will not be changed.

“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 FIFA spokesperson said.

Artan’s removal from the tournament has prompted frustration in Somalia, where his selection had been hailed as a breakthrough for the country’s football scene.

He was named Africa’s best referee for 2025 by the Confederation of African Football and had been expected to become the first Somali referee to officiate at a FIFA World Cup.