The Trump administration has claimed FIFA referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan was denied admission to the U.S. due to “association with suspected members of terror organizations.”The referee was one of 52 match officials chosen by FIFA, world football’s governing body, for the World Cup this summer. He reported to Miami last weekend to join a training camp with his peers in Florida ahead of the tournament.Artan told the New York Times on Tuesday that he “had the right papers” and “the right visa” before traveling to the United States and he also had accreditation as a match official by FIFA.The issue, therefore, appears to have emerged upon attempting to enter at the border. He said that border officials interviewed him at Miami International Airport during a process of over 11 hours, before being detained in a holding cell and then sent back to Istanbul, Turkey, where he began his journey.After The Athletic contacted the White House for comment on the matter, a senior administration official said: “Upon further inspection by CBP, derogatory information, including association with suspected members of terror organizations, was discovered making the traveler ineligible for admission to the United States under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).“The traveler was refused admission and given immigration forms that provide the section of law used to complete an expedited removal under 8235 of the INA. President Trump’s administration will not allow any security threat to enter our country — full stop.”The Athletic also asked the White House to detail the nature of his alleged ties and the specific terror group, but did not receive a response to those questions.FIFA has also been approached for comment, while The Athletic approached the official for a response via his Facebook page and the Somalia Football Association (SFF).“When I got word of it, I thought FIFA needs to step in here and the White House Task Force needs to be more aggressive about communicating what is going on here,” Democrat Congressman Rep. Rick Larsen, who represents Washington’s second congressional district, told The Athletic. “Is this isolated or more broad-based? It clearly needed answers.“I will just say this. In the last 24 hours, I received information that unfortunately for this particular individual, as a non-US national, he seems to have been treated like any other non-US national and ran into some problems at the border and port of entry that sound legitimate from my understanding.“The CBP (Customs and Border Protection) decision was probably the right one in this particular case. I am not in a position (to share more). I think CBP has the authority to look at people’s phones and communications and it seems they determined that some communications in this particular person’s devices were concerning enough to deny him entry.”Artan, the 2025 Confederation of African Football men’s referee of the year, was one of 52 referees selected by FIFA for the World Cup following a “meticulous” process. Referee chief Pierluigi Collina said: “The selected match officials are the very best in the world. They were part of a wider pool of officials that was identified and monitored over the past three years.”Omar Artan with FIFA’s Pierluigi Collina (Martin Fonseca/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)On Monday, a FIFA spokesperson said: “FIFA can confirm that match official Omar Abdulkadir Artan will be unable to train and officiate at the FIFA World Cup 2026 after he was denied entry into the United States.“FIFA is not involved in host country immigration processes, including visa adjudications, and has been informed by authorities that Mr Artan’s status will not be changed at present.“In line with previous FIFA events, a host government ultimately determines who receives a visa and who is admitted into their country.”In a statement initially shared on his behalf by FIFA, and then on his Facebook page, Artan wrote: “Despite the circumstances, I am in a positive mood and I am focused on the next challenges in my refereeing career.“I would like to thank FIFA and CAF (African football’s governing body) for all their support and I promise to keep my refereeing levels up as I concentrate on the future.“I want to thank the football family for their messages and wish my colleagues all the best success during the World Cup and I look forward to joining them again in future competitions.”The Trump administration has been highly hostile towards Somalis in the United States, most notably in relation to a fraud scandal in Minnesota, and the country itself. In December, he said Somalis had turned Minnesota into a “hellhole.”“The Somalians should be out of here,” he said. “They’ve destroyed our country. And all they do is complain, complain, complain.”He previously said: “Somalia, it’s a beautiful place. It’s got no government, it’s got no military, it’s got no anything. It’s got one thing that’s really strong — crime. It’s got a lot of crime. They have no police. All they do is run around shooting each other. It’s filthy, dirty, disgusting, dirty. It’s a horrible place.”Trump’s 2016 presidential rival Hilary Clinton has criticized the decision to deny the official, writing on X: “As a World Cup host, the U.S. shouldn’t be flippantly barring officials from entering the country to do their jobs. It’s terribly backward. It’s also counterproductive. Global sports competitions should improve international exchange and relations, not the reverse.”Upon returning to Somalia, Artan received a hero’s welcome, as fans greeted his arrival and sought to take photographs with the referee.