“I would like to thank FIFA and CAF for their support and I am committed to keeping my refereeing levels high as I focus on the future.”
With those words, spoken in Turkey after being deported from the United States, Omar Abdulkadir Artan summarized his reaction to the setback that prevented him from participating in the 2026 World Cup, according to the BBC in a journalistic note.
According to the British network, the Somali referee, named best African referee of 2025 by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), was about to become the first Somali referee to referee in a World Cup.
However, the US immigration authorities denied him entry at the Miami International Airport, even though he had a visa and diplomatic passport.
The BBC reported that Artan was interrogated for 11 hours. “I am very, very disappointed. I am simply a referee trying to make his dream come true: the biggest dream of my life, to come to the World Cup,” he declared.
“I had the documents in order and everything else. I had the correct visa,” he added before being transferred to a holding center and sent back to Istanbul.
In another statement reported by the BBC, Artan said: “I want to thank the football family for their messages and I wish my colleagues the best of success during the World Cup and I look forward to joining them again in future competitions.”
FIFA confirmed the exclusion. In a statement cited by the BBC, the body indicated that “referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan will not be able to coach or referee at the 2026 FIFA World Cup after being denied entry to the United States.”
Likewise, it clarified that it does not control the migration processes of the host countries and that decisions on admission correspond to the authorities of each country. According to the BBC, Artan attributed what happened to the immigration restrictions applied to his country. “I think they have a problem with my country,” he said.
Somalia is among the countries subject to immigration restrictions imposed by the current US administration.
Pierluigi Collina, FIFA’s chief referee, had organized a mandatory training center in Miami for the 52 referees and 88 assistant referees appointed for the tournament. Artan will no longer be part of that group.
Numerous reactions emerged from Somalia. Ciise Aden Abshir, senior adviser to the Ministry of Youth and Sports, stated – according to the BBC – that denying entry to Artan “not only harms him personally but undermines football’s commitment to impartiality, merit and the spirit of fair play.”
The Somali Football Federation requested urgent clarification from FIFA. Artan has been a FIFA referee since 2018 and has experience in the 2023 African Cup of Nations.
Despite what happened, the referee chose to focus on the future. His phrase “I focus on the future” summarizes the position of a professional who seeks to move forward after being left out of the most important tournament of his career.
The 2026 World Cup will begin without him, but his story is already part of the human narratives surrounding the first tournament organized jointly by three countries.