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Received — 10 June 2026 ⏭

Somali World Cup Referee Denied Entry to U.S. Returns Home to Hero’s Welcome

✇NYT - Top Stories
By: Hussein Mohamed
10 June 2026 at 12:30
Omar Abdulkadir Artan, who is widely admired in his home country, would have been the first Somali to referee a World Cup game.

© Feisal Omar/Reuters

Omar Abdulkadir Artan, a soccer referee who had planned to officiate at the World Cup, arriving back in Mogadishu, Somalia, on Wednesday.

On the Eve of the World Cup, U.S. Immigration Policy Turns Some Away

✇NYT - Top Stories
By: Tariq Panja
10 June 2026 at 16:41
Some fans and participants hoping to enter the United States for the World Cup have complained that restrictive immigration rules have presented a roadblock.

© Ahmad Al-Rubaye/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

The Iraqi soccer player Aymen Hussein, pictured in a mural near Baghdad wearing his No. 18 jersey, was temporarily detained by U.S. immigration officials before being allowed to enter the country for the World Cup.
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