Omar Abdulkadir Artan was one of 52 referees selected for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America and one of seven African referees.
He told The New York Times his dream of participating in the tournament was crushed after U.S. officials denied him entry into the country.
He would have been the first Somali referee to officiate in the World Cup.
“I am very, very disappointed,” Artan said. “I’m just simply a referee who’s trying to live his dream, the biggest dream of my life, to come to the World Cup.”
Artan flew to the Miami International Airport on Saturday, five days before the tournament was set to begin, but border officials prevented him from entering the U.S.
“I had the right papers and everything. I had the right visa,” Artan told The New York Times.
He shared he showed documentation from FIFA and photographs of his career as a professional referee. Border officials also referenced online material detailing his career, including being named referee of the year in 2025 by the Confederation of African Football, Artan added.
After an approximately 11-hour interview, Artan was taken to a separate holding cell where he was kept for several more hours before boarding a flight to Istanbul, The New York Times reported.
“The Traveler underwent additional inspection, a routine part of Customs and Border Protection’s inspection process when officers need to verify information or determine admissibility,” a U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement. “Following inspection, the traveler, a referee for the FIFA World Cup, was determined to be inadmissible due to vetting concerns and was denied entry.”
In a statement, Customs and Border Protection officials said that decisions were made on a case-by-case basis. They did not provide further details on why Artan was denied entry, according to The Associated Press.
It is unclear if FIFA had requested clearance for Artan to enter the U.S., but the organization confirmed in a statement that Artan would not be officiating in the World Cup.
“FIFA is not involved in host country immigration processes, including visa adjudications, and has been informed by authorities that Mr Artan’s status will not be changed at present,” the statement said.
“Despite the circumstances, I am in a positive mood and I am focused on the next challenges in my refereeing career,” Artan said in the statement, according to The Associated Press. “I would like to thank FIFA and (the African federation) for all their support and I promise to keep my refereeing levels up as I concentrate on the future. I want to thank the football family for their messages and wish my colleagues all the best success during the World Cup and I look forward to joining them again in future competitions.”
Artan returned to a formal welcome event in Somalia, according to The New York Times.
“He is a national hero for us and for Africa as well because he is the best referee in Africa,” one attendee said, according to The New York Times.
Despite the setback, Artan is committed to the World Cup.
“I am not disappointed,” he said. “I promise that in the next World Cup I will represent Somalia at the highest level and make history.”
Other countries have also faced travel difficulties for the tournament, including Iran’s soccer team. After a period of uncertainty, team members were granted visas to enter the country. Upon arrival, more than a dozen members of the team’s support staff were denied entry, according to The New York Times.