MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — A leading soccer referee from Somalia who was denied entry to the United States for the World Cup tournament was warmly received by a crowd of supporters and officials on Wednesday as he arrived home.Omar Artan, who was named as Africa’s best male referee in 2025., said he plans to be at the next World Cup and urged Somali youth to be proud of their country.Artan was set to be the first referee from Somalia to officiate at a World Cup after making FIFA’s final list for the tournament. He was denied entry to the U.S. at Miami International Airport on Saturday over unspecified “vetting concerns,” U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement, without giving details of the concerns. FIFA subsequently cut him from the tournament’s referee list.Artan was issued a visa to travel to the U.S. last week, according to the Somalia Embassy in Kenya, which processed it. The U.S. is co-hosting the tournament with Mexico and Canada, and Artan was due to meet up with other World Cup referees at their training base in Miami.
Arriving in the capital, Mogadishu, he thanked the Somali government and public as well as FIFA for their support.
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“I promise you, God willing, that I will attend the next one,” he said as hundreds of supporters at the airport waved Somali flags. “I want the Somali public to take comfort in this and remain confident.”
