Artan given heroes welcome back home in Mogadishu
* A US government official said Artan had not been allowed to enter the country because of an alleged “association with suspected members of terror organisations”
* He was questioned by border officials over his links to Somali militant group Al Shabab and had told them he knew nothing about the organisation
By Dale Johnson, BBC Sport
Somali referee Omar Artan, who was denied entry to the United States to officiate at the FIFA World Cup™ 2026, will still receive his full tournament fee.
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Artan was interrogated for 11 hours by US immigration authorities at Miami International Airport last Monday before being told he would not be allowed into the country after his diplomatic passport and single entry US visa were rejected.
A US government official said Artan had not been allowed to enter the country because of an alleged “association with suspected members of terror organisations”.
Artan said he had been questioned by border officials over his links to Somali militant group Al Shabab and had told them he knew nothing about the organisation.
“I had the right papers and everything. I had the right visa,” said Artan. “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.”
After being put back on a plane to Turkey, Artan received assistance from FIFA officials in Istanbul before boarding a flight to the Somali capital Mogadishu.
Sources told BBC Sport that even though Artan will take no part in the World Cup, FIFA has committed to paying his salary, which referees do not know the actual fee they will receive for officiating that is paid after the tournament is over.
Artan, the 2025 Confederation of African Football (CAF) men’s referee of the year, has since been invited officiate-for-the-UEFA-Super-Cup-2026-between-Paris-St-Germain-and-Aston-Villa in Salzburg, Austria on August 12.
The 34-year-old, who thanked his people and country after being welcomed in his homeland, has vowed to officiate at the 2030 World Cup
Artan had a year to remember in 2025, becoming the first Somali to take charge of a continental final. In June 2025, he officiated the second leg of Pyramids FC’s African Champions League final victory over Mamelodi Sundowns.
FIFA appointed Artan to the U-20 World Cup in Chile, where he took charge of three matches including the third-place play-off.
At the end of the year he refereed two group games at the Africa Cup of Nations, having also officiated at the tournament in 2024.
On his arrival in Mogadishu, Artan was received by a crowd of supporters and officials, proud that he was due to be the first referee Somalia to officiate at a World Cup. Artan criticised the decision to deny him entry to the US, saying what had happened to him was “unfortunate”.
“What happened has happened and it was unfortunate. I am grateful for the support Fifa gave me,” Artan said, while urging his supporters to stand behind their country.
“Somalia is ours, whether things are good or bad. I want to tell our youth not to lose hope in our country. I am now in my country, and there is no other place I want to be.
“I promise you, God willing, that I will attend the next one,” he said as hundreds of supporters at the airport waved the Somali flag. “I want the Somali public to take comfort in this and remain confident.”—Additional reporting by The Guardian; editing by Duncan Mlanjira, Maravi Express
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