Some fans and participants hoping to enter the United States for the World Cup have complained that restrictive immigration rules have presented a roadblock.
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.
Officials in North Texas will watch for potential threats from a new $40 million emergency operations center, one of many new security precautions in place across North America.
“I had the right papers and everything,” Omar Abdulkadir Artan said in his first interview since he was turned back. He would have been the first Somali to referee a game in the tournament.
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.