{"id":1338,"date":"2026-06-10T20:41:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T20:41:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=1338"},"modified":"2026-06-10T20:41:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T20:41:00","slug":"somali-referee-denied-entry-to-the-united-states-for-world-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=1338","title":{"rendered":"Somali referee denied entry to the United States for World Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>t<\/p>\n<p>Omar Abdulkadir Artan was one of 52 referees selected for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America and one of seven African referees. <\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=1336\">Vance adds custom henhouse to vice president residence<\/a><\/p>\n<p>He told The New York Times his dream of participating in the tournament was crushed after U.S. officials denied him entry into the country. <\/p>\n<p>He would have been the first Somali referee to officiate in the World Cup. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am very, very disappointed,\u201d Artan said. \u201cI\u2019m just simply a referee who\u2019s trying to live his dream, the biggest dream of my life, to come to the World Cup.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Artan flew to the Miami International Airport on Saturday, five days before the tournament was set to begin, but border officials prevented him from entering the U.S.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI had the right papers and everything. I had the right visa,\u201d Artan told The New York Times. <\/p>\n<p>He shared he showed documentation from FIFA and photographs of his career as a professional referee. Border officials also referenced online material detailing his career, including being named referee of the year in 2025 by the Confederation of African Football, Artan added.<\/p>\n<p>After an approximately 11-hour interview, Artan was taken to a separate holding cell where he was kept for several more hours before boarding a flight to Istanbul, The New York Times reported. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Traveler underwent additional inspection, a routine part of Customs and Border Protection\u2019s inspection process when officers need to verify information or determine admissibility,\u201d a U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement. \u201cFollowing inspection, the traveler, a referee for the FIFA World Cup, was determined to be inadmissible due to vetting concerns and was denied entry.\u201d <\/p>\n<div>\n<h5><strong>More World Cup coverage<\/strong><\/h5>\n<ul>\n<li><u>Ready for the FIFA World Cup? These food promotions might help<\/u><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li><u>Is the World Cup bigger than the Olympics? Here\u2019s what Utahns say about the impacts<\/u><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li><u>World Cup friendlies are being played this week. Here\u2019s what you need to know<\/u><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li><u>How international students in Utah are planning to follow the World Cup<\/u><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li>Opinion: The world needs the World Cup<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>In a statement, Customs and Border Protection officials said that decisions were made on a case-by-case basis. They did not provide further details on why Artan was denied entry, according to The Associated Press.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=1334\">What the \u2018Schmigadoon!\u2019 co-creator said after winning 2 Tony Awards<\/a><\/p>\n<p>It is unclear if FIFA had requested clearance for Artan to enter the U.S., but the organization confirmed in a statement that Artan would not be officiating in the World Cup. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cFIFA is not involved in host country immigration processes, including visa adjudications, and has been informed by authorities that Mr Artan\u2019s status will not be changed at present,\u201d the statement said. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cDespite the circumstances, I am in a positive mood and I am focused on the next challenges in my refereeing career,\u201d Artan said in the statement, according to The Associated Press. \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Artan returned to a formal welcome event in Somalia, according to The New York Times. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe is a national hero for us and for Africa as well because he is the best referee in Africa,\u201d one attendee said, according to The New York Times. <\/p>\n<p>Despite the setback, Artan is committed to the World Cup. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am not disappointed,\u201d he said. \u201cI promise that in the next World Cup I will represent Somalia at the highest level and make history.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Other countries have also faced travel difficulties for the tournament, including Iran\u2019s soccer team. After a period of uncertainty, team members were granted visas to enter the country. Upon arrival, more than a dozen members of the team\u2019s support staff were denied entry, according to The New York Times. <\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=1332\">Not so gentle giants: How to avoid a conflict with bison<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Omar Abdulkadir Artan said he had a valid visa and FIFA papers, but was still denied entry. The soccer governing body says it won\u2019t intervene in host-country immigration processes<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1337,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1338","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Somali referee denied entry to the United States for World Cup - American Movers Hub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=1338\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Somali referee denied entry to the United States for World Cup - American Movers Hub\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Omar Abdulkadir Artan said he had a valid visa and FIFA papers, but was still denied entry. 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