By The Daily Somalia | June 9, 2026
Somali referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan has been officially excluded from the 2026 FIFA World Cup after the United States denied him entry, FIFA confirmed Monday, a decision that has drawn swift and widespread condemnation from across the football world.
Artan arrived at Miami International Airport on Saturday from Istanbul, holding a valid visa and a diplomatic passport facilitated by the Somali embassy in Nairobi. Despite his FIFA appointment and diplomatic travel documents, US Customs and Border Protection determined he was inadmissible on what it described as “vetting concerns,” without elaborating further.
FIFA’s spokesperson confirmed the ruling to AFP, adding that the organisation has no authority over the immigration laws of host nations, a statement that critics say exposes a fundamental failure in the tournament’s hosting arrangement. The World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, kicks off on June 11.
Artan was not an ordinary traveller. He was one of seven African referees selected by FIFA to officiate at the tournament and the first Somali ever appointed to a World Cup. In 2025, he was named the best referee in Africa at the CAF Awards in Rabat, a recognition that placed him among the continent’s most distinguished football officials. He had previously made history in January 2024 as the first Somali to officiate at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Somalia is among multiple African and Muslim majority nations subject to travel restrictions introduced by President Donald Trump’s administration, restrictions that have drawn repeated criticism from human rights groups and international bodies. The case of Artan has brought those restrictions into sharp global focus, with a decorated professional barred not for any wrongdoing but by virtue of his nationality.
Ciise Aden Abshir, a senior advisor to Somalia’s Ministry of Youth and Sports, told AFP that Artan held a valid visa and called on the global football community to stand with him. The Federal Government of Somalia has faced separate criticism for not doing enough to secure Artan’s entry in advance, despite being aware of the travel ban complications.
For Somalia, a country navigating a deep political and security crisis at home, the exclusion of its most celebrated referee from the world’s biggest sporting stage is a moment of compounded loss. Omar Artan earned his place. The system failed him.
