‘I’ll be at next World Cup’ in 2030: Somali referee barred from US

(FILES) Somalian referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan gestures during the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) 2024 group D football match between Mauritania and Algeria at Stade de la Paix in Bouake on January 23, 2024. Award-winning Somali referee Omar Artan, set to be the first from his country to officiate at the World Cup, was denied entry to the United States, a sports ministry official told AFP on June 8, 2026. “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,” Ciise Aden Abshir, a senior advisor to Somalia’s Ministry of Youth and Sports and a former national team captain, told AFP. (Photo by KENZO TRIBOUILLARD / AFP)

Somali referee Omar Artan, who was denied entry to the United States for the World Cup, returned to a hero’s welcome in Mogadishu and vowed to take part in the next tournament in 2030.

More than 100 supporters lined up outside the VIP section of Mogadishu’s main airport, waving national flags as Artan disembarked from a Turkish Airlines flight to cheers.

“I will be at the next World Cup and will continue to make Somalia proud… Despite what has happened to me, I am not discouraged,” Artan told journalists.

Artan’s rejection has sparked outrage at home.

“They wronged him in a way that hurts everybody that is concerned about humanity,” Mohamed Said, a Mogadishu government official, said at the airport.

Artan, who in 2025 was named men’s referee of the year by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), was barred from entering the US on Saturday after arriving at Miami International Airport.

A US State Department official told AFP late Tuesday that the referee was “associated with suspected members of terrorist organizations”, therefore “making the traveler ineligible for admission to the United States”.

FIFA also confirmed that he would no longer be part of the World Cup set to start on Thursday.

Artan’s appointment to the 52-strong roster of referees for the finals in Canada, Mexico and the United States had been a huge source of pride for his compatriots.

Somalia’s president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said in April he was “a symbol of inspiration for the new generation of Somalis”.