Somalia’s centre, Omar Artan, faces the players after referee calls a penalty kick during the CAF Champions League final football match between AS FAR Rabat and Mamelodi Sundowns, Sunday, May 24, 2026, in Rabat, Morocco. (AP Photo)
Somali referee Omar Ertan, who was to become the first official from his country to officiate at a FIFA World Cup, was denied entry to the United States due to suspected links to members of terrorist organizations, the Associated Press news agency reported, citing an American official.The 34-year-old referee was named in FIFA’s final list of match officials for the 2026 World Cup and was due to join other referees at their training base in Miami ahead of the tournament. The United States is co-hosting the World Cup with Mexico and Canada.U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Arton “was determined to be inadmissible due to screening concerns and was denied entry.”After arriving in Florida, Artan was questioned about Somali politics and the al-Shabaab militant group, which the U.S. Africa Command in 2022 described as “the largest, wealthiest, and deadliest al-Qaeda affiliate.”A U.S. official was later quoted by the AP as saying that Orton had been denied entry because of his “associations with suspected members of terrorist organizations.”After this decision, FIFA removed Artan from the list of World Cup referees. He returned to Somalia’s capital Mogadishu on Wednesday, where he was greeted by supporters and urged the youth to do their country proud.Artan is one of the most recognized referees in Africa. He joined FIFA’s international panel in 2018 and became the first Somali referee to officiate at the Africa Cup of Nations after taking charge of a group stage match between Tunisia and Namibia in January 2024.In May of that year, they performed in the second leg of the African Champions League final in Morocco. He was also named the best male referee in Africa in 2025.FIFA selects World Cup referees through a lengthy evaluation process. Referees are nominated by their national associations before proceeding to continental tournaments and FIFA competitions. Orton umpired at the Men’s Under-20 World Cup in Chile last year and later attended World Cup preparation camps before being included in the final list announced in April.Somalia is one of about 40 countries whose citizens are barred from entry under the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration, and the AP reported that Somali officials say Arton may have been denied entry because of those restrictions.
