3 min readJun 11, 2026 05:33 AM IST
First published on: Jun 10, 2026 at 08:30 PM IST
A day after Somali referee Omar Artan was refused entry into the United states, a Trump administration official has alleged that the 34-year-old was sent back because of his “association with suspected members of terror organisations.”
Africa’s referee of the year in 2025 was set to become the first from his country to take charge of a FIFA World Cup game, but was denied entry at Miami International Airport on Monday, despite holding a diplomatic passport and a single-entry visa into the USA.
“This individual was seeking admission to the United States. Upon further inspection by CBP [Custom and Border Protection], derogatory information, including association with suspected members of terror organisations, was discovered making the traveller ineligible for admission to the United States under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA),” a US official was quoted as saying by the BBC.
“The traveller was refused admission and given immigration forms that provide the section of law used to complete an expedited removal under 8235 of the INA. President Trump’s administration will not allow any security threat to enter our country – full stop.”
The referee said that he faced an 11-hour immigration interview and was detained for several hours before be was put on a flight back to Istanbul, Turkey.
According to the BBC, it was not possible for Artan to stay outside the United States and referee matches played in Canada or Mexico, with all on-pitch officials based in Florida for training, preparation, and security.
Artan has since touched down on Somalia’s capital Mogadishu and has expressed confidence that he will be able to officiate at the next World Cup in 2030.
“I’d like to thank the officials, ministers, MPs and everyone. I want to thank my country and people for their support. Everything is pre-destined. FIFA supported me well and were in touch with me until I reached Mogadishu. I promise you that I’ll be officiating you in the next World Cup. Somalia, everywhere, I’m letting you know,” he said.
Trump has been on record making unfavourable remarks about Somalia, one of 12 countries on which he imposed a travel ban in June 2025.
“With Somalia, which is barely a country, you know, they have no anything,” he had said in December 2025. “They just run around killing each other. There’s no structure.”
He had added that Somali immigrants should “go back to where they came from” and that the US would “go the wrong way if we keep taking in garbage to our country”.
Omar Abdulkadir Artan, Africa's Referee of the Year 2025, returned to Somalia after being denied entry to the US ahead of the FIFA World Cup. (Wikimedia commons/Fédération Guinéenne Football) 
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