Somali referee has his 'biggest dream' shattered by US border patrol
Somali referee has his 'biggest dream' shattered by US border patrol
Steve Gardner, USA TODAYTue, June 9, 2026 at 2:50 PM UTC
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The top soccer referee in Africa says he's devastated he won't be able to officiate in the 2026 World Cup after being denied entry into the United States last Saturday.
Omar Abdulkadir Artan was selected as one of 52 referees for this summer's tournament and would have been the first referee from Somalia to take part in a World Cup match.
"I am very, very disappointed," Artan told The New York Times in a telephone interview from Istanbul, Turkey, where he had been diverted after landing in the U.S.
"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 Times he flew to Miami International Airport on Saturday, June 6 − five days before the tournament's opening games. However, he was stopped by U.S. border officials, who took him into a small room and questioned him for 11 hours.
"I had the right papers and everything," Artan said. "I had the right visa."
He said he also showed officials documentation from FIFA, as well as photographs of his career from over a decade as a professional referee, which included being named referee of the year in 2025 by the governing body of African soccer.
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Referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan shows Gabon forward Denis Bouanga a yellow card during the Africa Cup of Nations match against Ivory Coast in Marrakech on December 31, 2025.
After the interview ended, Artan said he was moved to a separate holding cell for several additional hours before being put on a flight back to Istanbul.
He said he was never given any reason for being turned away.
Artan was denied entry at the Miami airport because he "was determined to be inadmissible due to vetting concerns," according to a spokesperson from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Somalia is on the list of countries on President Donald Trump's travel ban. FIFA confirmed Artan will not be allowed to take part in this year's World Cup matches.
"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 over the weekend.
"In line with previous FIFA events, a host government ultimately determines who receives a visa and who is admitted into their country."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Omar Artan shares devastation after being denied entry to US for World Cup
Source: “AOL Sports”
