The man described as Africa’s finest football referee has been stripped of his World Cup appointment and flown home to Somalia after American border officials refused him entry — with the New York Times revealing his name closely resembles that of a man linked to the al-Qaida-backed extremist group al-Shabaab, though there is no evidence the referee himself has any connection to terrorism.
Omar Abdulkadir Artan, 34, was turned away at Miami International Airport after an 11-hour immigration interview, held in a separate cell for several more hours and then put on a flight to Istanbul without officials giving him a reason for the refusal. He arrived back in Somalia to a hero’s welcome, stepping off the plane to be mobbed by well-wishers and dignitaries before holding up a Somalian flag in a show of national pride and defiance. His World Cup dream was over.
The New York Times found that a search of the US Office of Foreign Assets Control’s sanctions list produced a name similar to Artan’s with links to al-Shabaab. An immigration lawyer told the paper that the name similarity would have triggered additional questioning about any potential ties to the group. Artan said officials repeatedly asked him about the extremist organisation during his interview. “I explained to them that I knew nothing about this military group, that I was only in the United States to do my job as a referee,” he said. He had brought FIFA documentation and photographs of his professional career to the interview, and officials checked his career online.
A Trump administration official told Fox News that “derogatory information, including association with suspected members of terror organizations” had been discovered during the inspection, making Artan “ineligible for admission under the Immigration and Nationality Act.” The official added: “President Trump’s administration will not allow any security threat to enter our country — full stop.”
FIFA had initially announced the situation had been “fully resolved” and that Artan would be available to officiate. Days later the governing body reversed that position, confirming he would be “unable to train and officiate at the FIFA World Cup 2026 after he was denied entry into the United States.” FIFA noted it was “not involved in host country immigration processes” and that the host government ultimately determines admissions.
Artan, who was named referee of the year in 2025 by the Confederation of African Football and is widely regarded as the best on the continent, said he was “very, very disappointed.” “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. I had the right papers and everything. I had the right visa.”
The case is not isolated. Somalia is on Trump’s travel ban list, and the president described Somali immigrants last month as “all crooks” and called the nation “the worst country in the world” in January. The United States has also refused visas to some members of Iran’s World Cup staff. Last week Iraqi World Cup star Aymen Hussein was held and questioned for almost seven hours at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport before eventually being allowed to enter — though Iraq’s team photographer was barred outright. The Iran squad, meanwhile, flew to Mexico after the US refused certain members entry, with players disembarking wearing pins bearing the number 168, a reference to those killed in what they believe was a US missile strike in February.
