"You cannot give up as a referee," Omar Artan said in an interview before the World Cup. Then US Customs pulled him out of Miami International Airport, interrogated him for 11 hours, put him in a holding cell, and flew him back to Istanbul. FIFA subsequently removed him from the tournament roster entirely.
Artan had been named to FIFA's official referee list two months ago — set to become the first Somali to officiate at a World Cup. He was awarded Africa's best male referee in 2025. Last month he took charge of the decisive leg of the African Champions League final, the continent's biggest club fixture. He had a valid visa, issued just last week by the Somalia Embassy in Kenya.
None of it mattered at the border.
What actually happened at Miami airport
US Customs and Border Protection says Artan was subjected to "additional inspection" — described, with a straight face, as "a routine part of CBP's inspection process." What that looked like in practice: border officials questioned him about Somali politics and the al-Shabab militant group, an insurgency fighting the Somali government. He presented FIFA documentation, photographs from his refereeing career. He was denied entry anyway and placed in a holding cell before being deported.
CBP cited "vetting concerns" without elaborating. Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House FIFA Task Force, said the denial was for "very good reason" — also without elaborating. Somalia is among nearly 40 countries under the Trump administration's expanded travel restrictions, many of them African nations with fans, players, and officials headed to this very tournament.
"I think that they have a problem with my country," Artan told the New York Times. "I was not provided with a reason."
FIFA's awkward silence
FIFA says it had no involvement in the immigration process and was simply told by US authorities that Artan's "status will not be changed at present." The organization released a statement on Artan's behalf — notably, not one from Gianni Infantino, who spent years publicly celebrating his closeness to the Trump administration as proof the World Cup would run smoothly. That relationship looks considerably less useful right now.
"In line with previous FIFA events, a host government ultimately determines who receives a visa and who is admitted into their country," FIFA said. Technically accurate. Also a complete abdication.
The Somalia Youth and Sports Ministry says its US embassy is working to reverse the decision before the tournament opens Thursday. Senior adviser Isse Aden Abshir suggested the denial is tied to the broader travel restrictions on Somalia rather than any specific allegation against Artan personally — which, if anything, makes the situation harder to resolve, not easier.
For anyone tracking officiating markets or simply trying to follow which countries can get their people into this tournament, the Artan case is now the test case. If a FIFA-badged, visa-holding, African Referee of the Year can't get through Miami customs, the question of who else gets turned away is entirely open.
"This was my big, big target and I'm really excited," Artan said before he left for the US. He never made it to the training base.
