MOGADISHU, Somalia — The World Cup referee from Somalia who was denied entry to the United States after arriving in Miami and subsequently dropped from the tournament by FIFA was set to make history for his country.Omar Artan was due to be the first referee from Somalia to officiate at the World Cup after making FIFA’s final list for the tournament, which was announced two months ago. He is one of Africa’s top referees and was named the continent’s best male referee in 2025 by the African soccer body.He was denied entry at Miami International Airport on Saturday over “vetting concerns,” U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement without giving details of those concerns. Artan was issued a visa to travel to the U.S. last week, according to the Somalia Embassy in Kenya that processed it.The move to deny a FIFA-appointed match official permission to enter the World Cup is highly unusual. Artan was due to meet up with other World Cup referees at their training base in Miami.The Somalia Sports and Youth Ministry said on Tuesday that it had not been told why Artan was denied entry and its embassy in the U.S. was making diplomatic efforts to resolve the problem and still allow Artan to referee at the World Cup, which opens on Thursday.Somalia was one of the countries subjected to new travel restrictions last year under the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration. That raised concerns that fans, players and officials from those countries — most of which are African — might be denied entry for the World Cup due to the larger crackdown despite having valid visas.“During processing, the traveler underwent additional inspection, a routine part of CBP’s inspection process when officers need to verify information or determine admissibility,” CBP said in its statement on Monday. “Following inspection, the traveler, a referee for the FIFA World Cup, was determined to be inadmissible due to vetting concerns and was denied entry.”It didn’t name Artan and referred only to a Somali national who is a World Cup referee. Artan is the only Somali referee selected for the tournament.CBP said all travelers seeking entry into the U.S. — including World Cup players, coaches and …
