06/10/26 11:27:00
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06/10 11:25 CDT Somali soccer referee denied entry to US for World Cup is
welcomed home as a hero
Somali soccer referee denied entry to US for World Cup is welcomed home as a
hero
By OMAR FARUK
Associated Press
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) --- A leading soccer referee from Somalia who was
denied entry to the United States for the World Cup tournament was warmly
received by a crowd of supporters and officials on Wednesday as he arrived home.
Omar Artan, who was named as Africa's best male referee in 2025., said he plans
to be at the next World Cup and urged Somali youth to be proud of their country.
Artan was set to be the first referee from Somalia to officiate at a World Cup
after making FIFA's final list for the tournament.
He was denied entry to the U.S. at Miami International Airport on Saturday over
unspecified "vetting concerns," U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a
statement, without giving details of the concerns. FIFA subsequently cut him
from the tournament's referee list.
Artan was issued a visa to travel to the U.S. last week, according to the
Somalia Embassy in Kenya, which processed it. The U.S. is co-hosting the
tournament with Mexico and Canada, and Artan was due to meet up with other
World Cup referees at their training base in Miami.
Arriving in the capital, Mogadishu, he thanked the Somali government and public
as well as FIFA for their support.
"I promise you, God willing, that I will attend the next one," he said as
hundreds of supporters at the airport waved Somali flags. "I want the Somali
public to take comfort in this and remain confident."
Later on Wednesday, thousands of soccer fans packed the stadium in Mogadishu
for a welcome ceremony for Artan, with patriotic songs echoing through the
arena as supporters waved the nation's flag and cheered him on.
Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre also hosted Artan, writing in a post on X that
the referee had "already won the hearts of millions and secured his place in
history."
"He devoted himself to ensuring that football was decided by merit, yet fate
denied him the stage he so richly deserved," Barre said.
The U.S.'s highly unusual move to deny a FIFA-appointed match official
permission to enter a World Cup host country drew outrage across the world and
raised questions among some fans about America's capacity to host the
competition.
Somalia is one of nearly 40 countries subject to new travel restrictions under
the Trump administration's crackdown on immigration.
On Wednesday, the United Nations' top human rights official called for a
"massive rethink" of immigration policies especially in the United States
around the World Cup.
Hundreds of supporters, government officials and members of Somalia's football
community gathered hours before Artan arrived at Aden Adde International
Airport.
As he disembarked, supporters waving Somali flags crowded around him before
draping him in the flag.
He was then escorted by police officers to the airport's VIP terminal, where he
was welcomed by Somalia's sports minister and other dignitaries, and spoke to
journalists.
"It is up to all of us to defend the Somali name," Artan said. "Somalia belongs
to us, whether it is in a bad state or a good state. That flag belongs to us,
and that passport belongs to us."
In a country where decades of war and the rise of the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab
extremist group have limited the potential of many in Somalia, Artan's denial
brought disappointment but reminded people what is possible if they chase their
dreams.
Artan's expected milestone at this year's World Cup "stands no matter what,"
the World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus ---
from neighboring Ethiopia --- wrote Tuesday on X. "You reached the summit of
your profession and inspired a generation back home just by getting there, and
being kept off the pitch you earned doesn't change that."
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