World Cup 2026: Banned referee Omar Artan arrives in Somalia

Artan, who was named the 2025 Confederation of African Football (Caf) Men’s Referee of the Year, was one of 52 referees selected for the tournament.

However, his “dream” was shattered when he tried to travel to the base of on-pitch officials in Florida. Artan tells the New York Times, outsider He faced an 11-hour immigration interview and was held for several hours before being put on a flight back to Istanbul, Turkey.

Speaking to the BBC World Service, Andrew Giuliani, who leads the White House task force on the World Cup, said: “While I can’t go into the nitty gritty on this, I can tell you it was the right decision by Customs and Border Patrol and I support that decision.”

It was not possible for Artan to be outside the United States and referee matches played in Canada or Mexico with all on-pitch officials based in Florida for training, preparation and security.

Trump imposed a total entry ban under any visa category for 12 countries, including Somalia, in June 2025.

Two days before the World Cup draw in December 2025, Trump drew widespread attention for comments he made about Somalia leading a planned immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota, which has a large Somali community.

“With Somalia, which is barely a country, you know, they have nothing,” he said.

“They run around killing each other. There’s no structure.”

He added that Somali immigrants “should go back to where they came from” and that the United States “is going the wrong way if we continue to bring garbage into our country”.

Arriving home, Artan urged Somalia’s youth not to lose hope in their country in the face of its treatment, saying: “Let us all defend the honor of Somalia. We all belong to Somalia whether it is bad or good.

“That flag is ours and so is the passport – let’s protect it.

“Young people should not despair about their country. Even if this happens to me, I will still stand for my nation.

“I want to continue my journey from here and urge the youth to do the same.”