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06/14 10:41 CDT World Cup referee Omar Artan will receive full fee from FIFA
despite being denied entry to the US
World Cup referee Omar Artan will receive full fee from FIFA despite being
denied entry to the US
By JAMES ROBSON
AP Soccer Writer
ATLANTA (AP) --- The Somali referee who was denied entry to the United States
for the World Cup will still be paid his full tournament fee.
A person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press that Omar
Artan will still be entitled to payment despite not officiating any games at
the near six-week long event. The person spoke on condition of anonymity
because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
They said the fee would be determined after the tournament concludes next month.
Artan is one of soccer's top officials and was named Africa's best male referee
in 2025. But the Somali national was denied entry after arriving at Miami
International Airport from Istanbul last week.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Artan was "inadmissible due to vetting
concerns".
He had originally been issued a visa to travel to the U.S., according to the
Somalia Embassy in Kenya, which processed it, and was due to meet up with other
World Cup referees at their training base in Miami.
FIFA said it was not involved in the immigration processes and that the host
government ultimately determines who is granted entry. As a result it said
Artan would not be able to train and officiate at the World Cup.
The 34-year-old Artan was given a hero's welcome when he returned to Somalia
earlier this week and vowed to attend the next edition of the World Cup ---
mainly staged in Morocco, Portugal and Spain - in 2030. He was also appointed
to officiate one of European soccer's showcase games, the UEFA Super Cup in
August.
"Football is made to connect people and UEFA wants to show its respect to Omar
and his outstanding officiating skills," UEFA president Aleksander ?eferin said
in a statement.
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James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson
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AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/fifa-world-cup
