Somali referee Omar Artan says he held valid travel documents and the correct visa when he was denied entry to the United States ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026, following an 11-hour immigration interview at Miami International Airport.

Artan had been on course to become the first Somali referee in World Cup finals history. FIFA dropped him from the list of tournament officials on Monday after US immigration authorities turned him away at the border. No official reason has been provided for his removal.

Somalia is among several nations subject to a travel ban imposed by President Donald Trump's administration, a measure widely seen as the backdrop to Artan's situation—though US authorities have not confirmed this as the cause.

Artan's account

"I am very, very disappointed," Artan told the New York Times. "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 the lengthy immigration interview, Artan said he was moved to a separate holding cell and detained for several more hours before being placed on a return flight to Istanbul, Turkey.

"I had the right papers and everything. I had the right visa," he said.

A senior adviser to Somalia's ministry of youth and sports confirmed the denial of entry to the BBC and stated that Artan had been travelling with valid documents. A Somali embassy official in Nairobi added that Artan's diplomatic passport had been issued specifically to smooth his travel following earlier visa difficulties.

FIFA and US responses

FIFA issued a statement confirming Artan's exclusion: "Fifa can confirm that match official Omar Abdulkadir Artan will be unable to train and officiate at the Fifa World Cup 2026 after he was denied entry into the United States. Fifa is not involved in host country immigration processes, including visa adjudications, and has been informed by authorities that Mr Artan's status will not be changed at present."

Andrew Giuliani, who leads the White House Task Force on the World Cup, told BBC World Service the decision was correct. "While I can't go into the derog on that, I can tell you it was the right decision by customs and border patrol and I support that decision," he said.

Referees' chief Pierluigi Collina has established a training hub in Miami for all 52 referees and 88 assistant referees taking part in the tournament. Officials must remain at the Florida base throughout the competition for training, preparation, and security purposes, making participation from outside the US impossible for Artan—even if limited to matches in Canada or Mexico.

A tournament under scrutiny

Artan became a FIFA referee in 2018 and has officiated at the Africa Cup of Nations. His exclusion is the latest in a series of controversies surrounding the tournament, which runs from 11 June to 19 July. Iran's football federation announced on Tuesday that their allocation of fan tickets for the group stage had been revoked.

Former England striker and pundit Ian Wright described the situation bluntly on Instagram: "Every few hours, it's another story about fans denied, player denied, officials denied, journalists denied, now refs. I'm laughing but it's not funny. Is this the spirit of football, really? This is a World Cup of chaos."

"I think that they have a problem with my country," Artan added, in what amounts to a quietly devastating verdict on a moment that should have been the pinnacle of his career.