‘I had the right papers’: Somali World Cup referee booted from US gets an answer from the White House

A Somali referee says he was held for half a day before being kicked out of the United States, where he hoped to officiate games at the World Cup.

The official in question is Omar Abdulkadir Artan, who recently refereed high-profile international matches for the Africa Cup of Nations and also earned the award for best male referee in Africa last year, per BBC.

‘President Trump’s administration will not allow any security threat to enter our country.’

Artan was set to be the first Somali ref to work at a World Cup but was dropped from the list after being denied entry to the United Sates. As one of 52 officials chosen by FIFA, he was attempting to enter the official training camp in Miami.

Artan told the New York Times on Tuesday, “I had the right papers and everything. I had the right visa.” He also had an accreditation from FIFA before traveling to the U.S.

However, the 34-year-old was turned away from Miami International Airport after an alleged 11-hour process that involved a detainment in a holding cell before he was sent back to Istanbul, Turkey, where he departed from.

An unnamed official with the Donald Trump administration told Fox News that the referee’s entry was rejected because he was suspected of being associated with terrorists.

“This individual was seeking admission to the United States. Upon further inspection by CBP, derogatory information, including association with suspected members of terror organizations, was discovered making the traveler ineligible for admission to the United States under the Immigration and Nationality Act,” the official said, per reporter Bill Melugin.

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The official said the “traveler” was refused admission and provided immigration forms that cited the law used to complete his extradition.

“President Trump’s administration will not allow any security threat to enter our country — full stop,” the official added.

FIFA later confirmed the referee’s removal to the BBC, saying that “match official Omar Abdulkadir Artan will be unable to train and officiate at the FIFA World Cup 2026 after he was denied entry into the United States.”

The soccer organization added that it 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.”

FIFA also noted that host governments ultimately decide who is worthy of admission into their country.

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Khaled DESOUKI/AFP/Getty Images

Similar complaints were made about members of Iran’s national soccer entourage, which the country described as the United States having “revoked World Cup ticket allocation for their supporters.”

In response, the White House recirculated comments from April by Secretary of State Marco Rubio when he said, “What [Iran] can’t bring is a bunch of IRGC terrorists into our country and pretend that they’re journalists and athletic trainers.”

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