Somali official Omar Artan will still get paid his full FIFA World Cup match fee, even though he never got to blow the whistle in the tournament.
The 34-year-old was stopped at Miami International Airport on Monday. US immigration officers detained him for 11 hours and then refused him entry. They rejected his diplomatic passport and single-entry US visa, citing what one US official called an “association with suspected members of terror organisations”.
Artan says officers questioned him about links to Somali militant group Al Shabab, which he denies.
“I had the right papers and everything. I had the right visa,” he told BBC Sport. “I’m just simply a referee who’s trying to live his dream, the biggest dream of my life, to come to the World Cup.”
After being sent back to Turkey, FIFA staff in Istanbul helped him return to Mogadishu. BBC Sport sources say FIFA has now promised to pay Artan his tournament salary, despite him not officiating a single game. Referee fees are only confirmed and paid after the World Cup ends.
The setback hasn’t stopped Artan’s rise. He was named CAF Men’s Referee of the Year for 2025 and became the first Somali to referee a continental final, taking charge of the African Champions League second leg in June.
He also worked the U-20 World Cup in Chile, including the third-place playoff, and refereed two AFCON group games last year.
Next up: UEFA has invited him to officiate the Super Cup between PSG and Aston Villa in Salzburg on August 12. Artan says he was welcomed home by “my people and my country” and remains determined to reach the 2030 World Cup.
