Update: Somali referee breaks silence after he was denied entry to the US
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The Somali referee denied entry to the United States for the World Cup has stated that he was turned away despite having the right visa. Omar Abdulkadir Artan, who has been acclaimed as the best official in Africa, was dropped from FIFA’s list for the tournament after American authorities refused him permission to enter the country at Miami International Airport. The 34-year-old was sent on a flight back to Turkey, where he had transited through after traveling from Kenya, bringing his World Cup dream crashing down. In his first interview since the ordeal, Artan told The New York Times over the phone from Istanbul, the city he had been flown to after he was denied entry: ‘I am very, very disappointed. Im just simply a referee whos trying to live his dream, the biggest dream of my life, to come to the World Cup.’ ‘I had the right papers and everything. I had the right visa,’ he added, while claiming that he also showed documentation from FIFA and photographs of his career of over a decade as a professional referee to border officials. They also checked online material about his career, said Artan – who was named referee of the year in 2025 by the Confederation of African Football. The official claims his immigration interview ended after 11 hours, before he was taken to a separate holding cell. He was detained there for several more hours before being put on a flight back to Istanbul, despite officials not giving him a reason for denying him entry to the US. ‘I think that they have a problem with my country,’ Artan added. US Customs and Border Protection said in a statement: ‘The traveler underwent additional inspection, a routine part of C.B.P.s inspection process when officers need to verify information or determine admissibility. ‘Following inspection, the traveler, a referee for the FIFA World Cup, was determined to be inadmissible due to vetting concerns and was denied entry.’ The post Update: Somali referee breaks silence after he was denied entry to the US appeared first on Linda Ikeji Blog.
The Somali referee denied entry to the United States for the World Cup has stated that he was turnedRead more at http://www.lindaikejisblog.com/2026/6/update-somali-referee-breaks-silence-after-he-was-denied-entry-to-the-us.html