Football governing body Fifa has removed Somali referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan from the 2026 World Cup officiating roster after American authorities denied him entry into the country, ending what would have been the first World Cup finals appearance by a Somali match official.
Artan, the Confederation of African Football’s men’s referee of the year in 2025, was barred from entering the US at Miami International Airport and is currently in Turkey.
US immigration authorities have not publicly provided a reason for the decision.
In a statement, Fifa said Artan would be unable to participate in the tournament after discussions with US authorities.
How? Like he physically can’t to the game…
Keep him on the list. Even if he can’t be there, it’s still a sign that you don’t take the decision lying down. Of course, Infantino would not do that because he does not give a single shit about any of this, but you could save face.
And the point being? For example if an actor or actress has their name in the credits at the end of a movie I believe that’s good for their career but would this have any effect?
I mean imagine interviewing this guy “fun fact: I referred the world cup. Ok… I didn’t actually referee the world cup but my name was on a list”. He may be the best carpenter ever but I don’t see the difference in being on the list or not.
Hell, without any searching on a website… Name a single other referee. They do hard work, as do shelf stockers and construction workers, I’m not discounting that. Honestly all this controversy may actually help him. It shows the us as being assholes but… If you ran a local soccer tournament and were looking for a referee, would you DARE turn him down and face the wrath of the internet?