FIFA Referee Denied Entry to USA for 2026 World Cup

Washington. With only 48 hours left for the start of the 2026 Football World Cup, a new controversy has arisen after the host nation USA banned a key FIFA referee from entering the country and sent him back. FIFA's top referee from Africa, Omar Artan, was sent back to Somalia from Miami airport by US immigration officials. Artan, who came to join the 51-member referee team selected for the World Cup, was interrogated for 11 hours and kept in custody. Ultimately, despite having the necessary visa and documents, he was put on a plane back to the capital, Mogadishu.

This incident has caused a huge stir in the football world. Pierre Poore, Executive Director of 'Fair', an organization campaigning against discrimination, stated that this situation arose due to the US government's ideological and discriminatory immigration policy. He said, 'Such a farce, where a FIFA official referee is denied entry while coming for preparations, has never been seen in history.' Artan became the first Somali referee to officiate a continental final in 2025 and also played an excellent role in the U-20 World Cup in Chile. He has been deprived of the moment of fulfilling his life's biggest dream due to US policy. Regarding this, Andrew Giuliani, head of the White House Task Force, defended the decision of the border security force, calling it correct. Former Arsenal striker Ian Wright also termed it a 'World Cup of chaos.'

Although the relationship between FIFA President Gianni Infantino and US President Donald Trump has appeared very cordial recently, FIFA has become helpless on the issue of immigration. Trump had imposed a complete travel ban on 12 countries, including Somalia, Iran, and Haiti, in June 2025. Some time ago, Trump had made comments targeting Somali immigrants in Minnesota, calling Somalia non-existent and its people 'filth,' and stating they should return to their own country. Earlier, in 2017, when Trump imposed a similar ban, Infantino had warned that the World Cup could not be held in countries that do not allow FIFA officials and supporters entry. However, in the face of American dominance, FIFA has washed its hands of the matter, calling it outside its jurisdiction.

Despite controversies in the 2018 Russia World Cup and the 2022 Qatar World Cup, they had arranged for easy entry without visas for FIFA officials and supporters. However, in America, supporters, players, and even journalists are facing extreme hardship. Supporters from Iraq, who are not on the ban list, have also lost hope due to not receiving visas. The US officials have even canceled the group stage tickets for Iran. Iran has accused the US of not issuing visas to its 15 important technical team members. The schedule, arranged for the Iranian team to enter only 24 hours before the match from Tijuana, Mexico, and return immediately after the game, is yet to be tested. This interrogation of FIFA member nations and coaches raises a serious question of whether the World Cup is being run by FIFA or the Trump government.