Somali referee Omar Artan won’t officiate in after being denied entry into the United States.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Monday that a Somali national who was planning to referee in the World Cup had been denied entry after arriving to Miami International Airport from Istanbul on Saturday. While the CBP statement didn鈥檛 mention the person by name, Artan is the only World Cup referee from Somalia.
FIFA confirmed later Monday that Artan wouldn’t be able to train and officiate at the World Cup, then released a statement on the referee’s behalf.
鈥淒espite the circumstances, I am in a positive mood and I am focused on the next challenges in my refereeing career,” Artan said in the statement. 鈥淚 would like to thank FIFA and (the African federation) for all their support and I promise to keep my refereeing levels up as I concentrate on the future. I want to thank the football family for their messages and wish my colleagues all the best success during the World Cup and I look forward to joining them again in future competitions.鈥�
In its own statement, FIFA said it was not involved in the immigration processes and was informed by authorities that Artan’s 鈥渟tatus will not be changed at present.鈥�
鈥淚n line with previous FIFA events, a host government ultimately determines who receives a visa and who is admitted into their country,” soccer’s governing body said.
CBP issued a release explaining why Artan was denied entry.
鈥淒uring processing, the traveler underwent additional inspection, a routine part of CBP鈥檚 inspection process when officers need to verify information or determine admissibility,鈥� CBP said in its statement. 鈥淔ollowing inspection, the traveler, a referee for the FIFA World Cup, was determined to be inadmissible due to vetting concerns and was denied entry.鈥�
CBP noted that all travelers seeking entry into the U.S. 鈥� including athletes, coaches and staff 鈥� are subject to CBP inspection and vetting.
鈥淎dmissibility determinations are made on a case-by-case basis using law enforcement, national security, and immigration information available at the time of inspection,鈥� the CBP statement said. 鈥淐BP officers have the authority to question travelers, conduct inspections, and determine admissibility consistent with U.S. law.鈥�
___
AP World Cup coverage:
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
