The Somali referee who was denied entry to the United States ahead of the World Cup has been selected to officiate the UEFA Super Cup, the European governing body announced on Thursday.Omar Artan, 34, was due to referee at this summer’s tournament in North America but was barred from entering the U.S. at Miami International Airport on Saturday.The Trump administration claimed he had “association with suspected members of terror organizations”.Artan had been one of 52 match officials chosen by FIFA, world soccer’s governing body, for the tournament but was returned to Istanbul by U.S. border officials before travelling back to Somalia — where he has received a hero’s welcome.UEFA, however, has now picked Artan to referee the Super Cup between Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain and Europa League champions Aston Villa in August. The game, which effectively kicks off the European soccer season, takes place on August 12 in Salzburg, Austria.UEFA’s release announcing the news described Artan as “one of the world’s top referees” and acknowledged that he “could not participate as he was not allowed to enter the United States”.European soccer’s governing body said the move was part of a Memorandum of Understanding it had recently signed with CAF, the African football confederation.Aleksander Čeferin, UEFA president, said: “Omar Artan is an excellent young but already experienced referee, who has proven himself at the highest competition level of the Confederation of African Football.“Football is made to connect people, and UEFA wants to show its respect to Omar and his outstanding officiating skills, which had earned him such a prestigious nomination. I am grateful to my friend CAF President Patrice Motsepe for supporting enthusiastically our initiative.”Dr Patrice Motsepe, CAF president, said: “Omar Artan has made Somalia and the entire people of the African Continent, extremely proud. His receipt of the CAF Men’s Referee of the Year Award 2025 and his appointment as a referee of the FIFA World Cup 2026 are a recognition of his world-class refereeing ability and the international respect that he enjoys. I am very thankful to my friend, Aleksander Čeferin for enabling Omar Artan to officiate the UEFA Super Cup 2026 match.“This is a great honour for Omar Artan and for African referees and is also an excellent example of football, bringing together and uniting people from Africa and Europe and worldwide.”Artan told the New York Times on Tuesday that he “had the right papers” and “the right visa” before traveling to the U.S. 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.”In a wide-ranging, hour-long news conference on the eve of the World Cup opener in Mexico City, FIFA president Gianni Infantino suggested that FIFA was helpless to prevent Artan’s situation.“It’s true we are confronted with challenges we’d rather not confront,” Infantino said on Wednesday. “We have to deal with them. Sometimes we can solve them, and sometimes we can’t.”Regarding Artan specifically, Infantino said: “It is unfortunate what happened to Omar, the referee from Somalia. But again, we don’t control everything.”In response to the criticism that FIFA and the U.S. have received for not finding a way to allow Artan to participate, Infantino added: “Maybe sometimes it’s good as well to just chill, relax. We work on everything. We try to solve everything. Sometimes to immediately start screaming and shouting has the opposite effect of finding a solution.“We are not the kings of the world who can rule over governments and police forces. We are a sports organization. We do our best with the means that we have to do as much as possible.”Jun 11, 2026Connections: Sports EditionSpot the pattern. Connect the termsFind the hidden link between sports terms