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/ReutersOmar Abdulkadir Artan, a soccer referee who had planned to officiate at the World Cup, arriving back in Mogadishu, Somalia, on Wednesday.
U.S. Denies Entry to World Cup Referee From Somalia NYT - Top Stories By: Hussein Mohamed and Tariq Panja 8 June 2026 at 22:40 Omar Artan was one of 52 referees selected for the FIFA World Cup. But on Saturday he was denied entry because of “vetting concerns,” U.S. officials said. © Khaled Desouki/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesOmar Artan will not officiate games at the World Cup, FIFA said.
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