Somali referee Artan denied US entry for World Cup
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- Omar Artan, set to be the first Somali to referee a World Cup finals, was barred from entering the US at Miami International Airport after an 11-hour immigration interview; no reason for his repatriation has been issued by US immigration authorities.
- FIFA confirmed Artan "will not be changed at present" and stated it is "not involved in host country immigration processes, including visa adjudications," after he was dropped from the officials' list on Monday.
- Somalia is on a travel ban list introduced by President Trump's administration; in December, Trump told reporters he does not want Somali immigrants in the US and they should "go back to where they came from."
- Andrew Giuliani, who leads the White House Task Force on the World Cup, told BBC World Service the denial was "the right decision by customs and border patrol" but declined to discuss the "derog" or derogatory information.
- Artan said he had "the right papers and everything" and "the right visa," and a Somali embassy official in Nairobi confirmed his diplomatic passport was issued specifically to ease earlier travel difficulties.
- Ian Wright labeled the tournament a "World Cup of chaos," saying "every few hours, it's another story about fans denied, player denied, officials denied, journalists denied, now refs."
Why it matters: Artan, who had valid documents per his embassy and himself, was kept out under a system where FIFA says it has no role in US immigration and the White House calls the denial "the right decision." With all 52 referees and 88 assistants required to stay at a Miami training hub, any barred official cannot be swapped in from abroad, and Wright's reaction crystallizes the reputational cost for the US as host.
