Somali World Cup referee denied entry to U.S. arrives home to hero’s welcome

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MOGADISHU, Somalia — A World Cup referee from Somalia who was denied entry to the United States was received by a crowd of supporters and officials Wednesday as he arrived in Somalia’s capital of Mogadishu, where he said he plans to be at the next World Cup and urged Somali youths to be proud of their country.

Omar Artan was set to be the first referee from Somalia to officiate at a World Cup after making FIFA’s final list for the tournament. He is one of Africa’s top referees and was named the continent’s best male referee in 2025.

He was denied entry at Miami International Airport on Saturday over “vetting concerns,” U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement without giving details of those concerns. FIFA subsequently cut him from the tournament’s referee list.

Artan was issued a visa to travel to the U.S. last week, according to the Somalia Embassy in Kenya that processed it. U.S. is co-hosting with Mexico and Canada, and Artan was due to meet up with other World Cup referees at their training base in Miami.

He returned to a hero’s welcome at the airport in Mogadishu, where he thanked the Somali government and people as well as FIFA for their support for him.

“I promise you, God willing, that I will attend the next one,” he said as hundreds of supporters at the airport waved the Somali flag. “I want the Somali public to take comfort in this and remain confident.”

Somali Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre hosted Artan on Wednesday, writing on X that the referee “already won the hearts of millions and secured his place in history.”

“He devoted himself to ensuring that football was decided by merit, yet fate denied him the stage he so richly deserved,” Barre said.

The U.S.’s highly unusual move to deny a FIFA-appointed match official permission to enter a World Cup host country drew outrage across the world and raised questions among some fans about America’s capacity to host the competition.

Somalia is one of nearly 40 countries subject to new travel restrictions under the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration.

On Wednesday, the United Nations’ top human rights official called for a “massive rethink” of immigration policies especially in the United States around the World Cup.

Hundreds of supporters, government officials and members of Somalia’s football community gathered hours before Artan arrived at Aden Adde International Airport.

As he disembarked, supporters waving Somali flags crowded around him before draping him in the flag.

He was then escorted by police officers to the airport’s VIP terminal, where he was welcomed by Somalia’s Minister of Youth and Sports, officials from the Somalia Football Federation and other dignitaries and spoke to press.

“It is up to all of us to defend the Somali name,” Artan said. “Somalia belongs to us, whether it is in a bad state or a good state. That flag belongs to us, and that passport belongs to us.”

In a country where decades of war and the rise of the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab extremist group has limited the potential of many, Artan’s denial brought disappointment to many but reminded some in the country about what is possible if they chase their dreams.

Artan’s expected milestone at this year’s World Cup “stands no matter what,” the World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote Tuesday on X. “You reached the summit of your profession and inspired a generation back home just by getting there, and being kept off the pitch you earned doesn’t change that,” he added.

Omar Faruk, The Associated Press