Shocked... How did Somalis react to the decision to ban referee Artan from entering America?

Written by: Ayman Ragab

The decision by US authorities to bar Somali referee Omar Artan from entering the United States has sparked widespread anger and resentment among fans and sports officials in Somalia, after he was preparing to achieve a historic milestone by becoming the first Somali referee to officiate a World Cup match.

Artan, 34, was about to participate in a World Cup referees' training camp in Miami, USA, before being denied entry to the country last week by Customs and Border Protection. One of Africa's top referees, Artan was named Africa's Best Male Referee in 2025 and considered participating in the World Cup his "biggest dream.".

A rare and unusual step

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency explained in a statement that the ban was due to “security screening concerns,” without providing further details about the nature of those concerns.

Despite having obtained a visa to travel to the United States days before the trip, according to the Somali embassy in Kenya which handled the visa procedures, Artan was denied entry to Miami International Airport on Saturday.

Preventing a referee selected by FIFA to participate in the World Cup from entering the host country is a rare and unusual step, especially since Ertan was scheduled to join the rest of the participating referees at their training center in Miami.

For his part, Ali Abdi Mohamed, president of the Somali Football Association, expressed his regret over the decision, saying that Artan deserved the opportunity to referee at the highest international levels after years of hard work and dedication.

He added that the decision will not only affect the referee, but its impact will extend to the entire Somali football community, and indeed to the Somali people in general, who viewed this participation as a source of national pride.

Artan had recently officiated the CAF Champions League final between Mamelodi Sundowns and Al-Ahly Rabat in Morocco on May 24, 2026, in one of the highlights of his refereeing career.

In comments to The New York Times, Artan said he was subjected to an 11-hour interrogation at Miami airport, where border officials questioned him about the reasons for his visit to the United States, as well as about the political situation in Somalia and the al-Shabaab militant group waging an insurgency against the Somali government.