US border authorities deny entry to Somali World Cup referee Omar Artan in Miami

Statements by the US border protection agency CBP

The US border protection agency CBP, according to "The Athletic," essentially confirmed the incident but did not name Artan directly: "Following inspection, one traveler was admitted into the United States," the CBP said. "The second traveler, a photographer and not a member of the team, was deemed inadmissible due to concerns identified during the security screening and was denied entry." According to the information, Artan is the only World Cup referee from Somalia.

The agency also stated that every entry authorization is a case-by-case decision and that CBP officers are authorized to question, search and make decisions regarding travelers in accordance with US law. FIFA has not commented on the incident so far and did not initially respond to a dpa inquiry about the denial.

Reactions and voices

In a piece published on Monday by Al Jazeera, Artan still spoke about his excitement for the tournament. "It is a great honor for me to be the first Somali to be there," he said. "I hope I will be fantastic there." A few days later, he was denied entry into the host country.

Entry problems of other World Cup travelers

It had previously become known that Iraqi striker Aymen Hussein was questioned by the border protection agency for several hours when he attempted to enter the United States in Chicago on Friday. Artan is therefore not the only World Cup traveler who encountered problems at the US border, even though his case ended in a denial of entry.

The 2026 World Cup is the first major event of this scale to be held simultaneously in three North American countries. The nomination of 52 match officials from around the world is intended to ensure global representation – a claim that is called into question by the Artan case. His removal raises the question of how FIFA and the host countries intend to handle similar visa issues in the future.

The dpa news channel reported on the incident on 08.06.2026, including on the Deutschlandfunk program. Neither FIFA nor the responsible US authorities have so far provided further explanations as to whether short-term solutions exist for affected tournament participants.