Football World Championships begin on Thursday, June 11, but in the United States they have already started – not on the field but at airports. In recent days, entry controls in the country have created problems for some people linked to the tournament, between teams, technical staff and now also arbitrators. The most relevant case concerns Omar Abdulkadir Artan, Somali arbitrator chosen by FIFA to direct some matches of the competition, which was dismissed at Miami International Airport after arriving from Istanbul. He was not publicly accused of anything, but the US authorities said that during the controls there were problems of “vetting”, i.e. preliminary verification for entry into the country.
Artan had a valid visa and was one of the 52 arbitrators selected by FIFA for World Cup. It would have been the first somalo to arbitrate a World Cup match, a very significant result for a country that has a fragile football tradition and has been conditioned for decades of political instability and violence. Since 2018 he has been a FIFA international referee, in 2025 he has been awarded by the African Football Confederation as the best referee of the year and in recent years he has also directed African Cup matches. After the rejection he returned to Istanbul, where he was before leaving for the United States.
The most delicate point is that Artan comes from Somalia, one of the countries included in the travel ban decided by the Trump administration. The measure restricts or prevents entry into the United States to citizens of some States considered problematic for security or document control reasons. In theory, those who participate in international events such as the World Cup can obtain specific or diplomatic visas, as in the case of Artan. In practice, however, the visa does not guarantee automatic entry: the last decision is taken at the border, by American agents.
The Artan case comes after other episodes that had already shown how immigration policies could complicate the organization of the World Cup. In recent days the case of Iran had emerged, whose national had problems for the entry into the United States of a part of the staff. For several days it was unclear if all the members of the delegation could enter the country. In the end, the team will be based in Mexico and will go to the United States only on the days of the matches.
Another case took place on Friday at Chicago airport, where the Iraqi national team arrived. Aymen Hussein, the attacker of Iraq, was held for about seven hours by American agents. He would be checked on his phone and other devices before being allowed to continue towards West Virginia, where the team will base during the tournament. Hussein is one of the most important players in Iraq: he is thirty years old and was decisive in qualifying, scoring the 2-1 goal against Bolivia in the playoffs. For Iraq this World Championship also has a symbolic value, because the national team returns to participate in the competition after forty years.
In the same episode, however, the entry into the United States was denied to the official photographer of the Iraqi national, held for about ten hours before the rejection. The U.S. authorities did not explain.
L’articolo Somali referee for the Worlds to which entry into the United States was denied proviene da IlNewyorkese.
