Top African referee Omar Artan refused access to US and will miss World Cup | World Cup 2026

A Somali referee, who was set to become the first person from his country to officiate at a World Cup, has been denied access to the United States and will not work during this summer’s tournament.

Fifa confirmed that Artan “will be unable to train and officiate at the Fifa World Cup 2026” in a statement issued to media on Monday due to him being denied entry to the United States.”

Fifa passed responsibility for the situation to the US government, saying that they were “informed by authorities that Mr Artan’s status will not be changed at present.”

“Fifa is not involved in host country immigration processes, including visa adjudications … in line with previous Fifa events, a host government ultimately determines who receives a visa and who is admitted into their country.”

Omar Artan was refused entry to the US at Miami International Airport this past weekend, despite allegedly having a valid travel visa.

Somalia is one of several countries currently under a broad travel ban imposed by the Trump administration and while the reasons behind any decision to deny Artan entry to the US have not been made clear, representatives of the Somali government said the decision had “undermined football’s commitment to fair play”.

Somali officials called for the football community to rally in support of Artan. “Omar Artan is among Africa’s most respected referees and deserves the support of the entire football community,” said Ciise Aden Abshir, a senior adviser to Somalia’s Ministry of Youth and Sports and a former national team captain, in a statement first shared with Agence France-Presse.

“Denying him entry to the United States and preventing him from officiating scheduled matches harms not only him personally but also undermines football’s commitment to fairness, merit, and the spirit of fair play.”

Artan is understood now to be in Istanbul, where he has been based in recent months. Named as Africa’s best referee last year, Artan officiated at the Africa Cup of Nations in 2023 and has been a Fifa referee since 2018. He was to have been one of 170 referees, assistant referees and video assistant referees who will oversee the record 104 matches in the upcoming six-week tournament. The president of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, has previously described Artan as “a symbol of inspiration for the new generation of Somalis”.

Travel issues have long been flagged as a potential risk for this World Cup, especially under the anti-immigration Trump administration, and Artan becomes just the latest name to encounter difficulties entering the US. Iranian players and officials have had issues for months, with the country’s training base eventually moving from the US to Mexico.

This week, Iranian officials said support staff had even been denied visas at the last minute, a claim disputed by the US state department, while the Iraq striker, Aymen Hussein, was held and questioned for nearly seven hours at Chicago’s O’Hare airport. The Swiss midfielder Breel Embolo was also denied an entry visa last week, but Swiss authorities said they had successfully appealed against the decision.