FIFA to pay Somali referee barred from World Cup in full

Somali referee Omar Artan will receive his full tournament fee from FIFA despite being denied entry to the United States ahead of the World Cup, officials said Saturday.

Artan, 34, was barred from entering the country at Miami International Airport on Saturday, June 6, after being selected by FIFA as one of 52 match officials for the tournament. U.S. authorities interrogated him for 11 hours before rejecting his diplomatic passport and single-entry visa.

A U.S. government official said Artan had not been allowed to enter the country because of an alleged "association with suspected members of terror organisations." The Trump administration made the same claim in its public statement on the matter.

Artan said he had been questioned by border officials over his links to Somali militant group Al Shabab and told them he knew nothing about the organisation. "I had the right papers and everything. I had the right visa," Artan said. "I'm just simply a referee who's trying to live his" life, he added in a statement to media.

A source involved in the matter said that although Artan will not participate in the World Cup, FIFA has committed to paying his full salary for the tournament. The exact total amount referees will receive for their participation in the U.S., Canada and Mexico has not yet been confirmed.

Artan was elected the best referee in Africa in 2025 and was set to become the first Somali to officiate at the World Cup. He has been a FIFA referee since 2018. After his deportation, he returned to Mogadishu, Somalia's capital, where he was received by supporters at the airport.