The deportation of Somali referee Omar Artan, who was in FIFA’s list of officials for the football World Cup 2026 created a huge ruckus before the tournament.
The referee was denied entry by the USA’s Custom and Border Protection (CBP) after a long detention at Chicago’s O’Hare airport. Notably, Somalia is one of the several countries under a blanket ban by the Trump’s administration. The US, one of the co-host of the tournament along with Canada and Mexico which starts Thursday (Jun 11), said that Artan was denied entry because of links with a terror organization, but the Artan – Africa’s referee of 2025 – denied having information of such nature.
US reveals reason of denying entry to Somalia’s Artan
Speaking on the issue, US State Depatment said: “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).
“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 statement read.
What did Artan said about the links with terror organization?
The Somali ref confirmed to New York Times on Tuesday (Jun 9) that he was asked about his links with banned Somali militant group Al Shabab during the interrogation at the Chicago airport. Artan also said that he knew nothing about the group.
Upon reaching Mogadishu, Artan spoke about support he got from the various fronts including Somali officials and FIFA but did not take question from the press.
“I’d like to thank the officials, ministers, MPs and everyone. I want to thank my country and people for their support. The encouragement I received here, I know I’ll get more support outside [the airport],” Artan said as translated by the BBC.
“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.”
How to watch and stream FIFA World Cup 2026 in India
You can watch FIFA 2026 on Zee’s new Unite8 Sports network (Unite8 Sports 1, Unite8 Sports 1 HD, Unite8 Sports 2, and Unite8 Sports 2 HD). Multiple group-stage matches that will take place simultaneously will be aired across the four channels with English and Hindi feeds. All games will also be streamed live on the Zee5 app and website.