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Or sign-in if you have an account.Somali referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan waves to supporters after returning to Somalia in Mogadishu on June 10, 2026. Photo by Photo by Hassan Ali Elmi / AFP via Getty ImagesFirst Reading is a Canadian politics newsletter curated by the National Post’s own Tristin Hopper. To get an early version sent directly to your inbox, sign up here.Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorAfter a Somalian World Cup referee was turned away by U.S. border security, Canadian politicians immediately extended a hearty welcome for him to come officiate in Canada.Only after Canadians had rolled out the red carpet, however, did it emerge that the referee, Omar Artan, was rejected because of alleged terror ties.In a statement issued to multiple U.S. media outlets, the White House wrote that Artan had been rejected due to “association with suspected members of terror organizations.”This newsletter from NP Comment tackles the topics you care about. (Subscriber-exclusive edition on Fridays)By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againAlthough the specific terror organization wasn’t specified, it would only take a few hours until Somalia’s largest single terror group appeared to speak out in Artan’s defence.“The case of Omar Artan serves as the latest and most damning proof that American policy extends beyond security concerns to encompass broad ethnic discrimination,” reads a statement allegedly issued Wednesday by the Somali terror group Al Shabaab and published by the Somali Guardian.The statement added “Artan’s case demonstrates that U.S. decision-making is driven not by security concerns or the imperative to counter ‘extremism,’ but rather by racial and ethnic prejudice targeting Somalis as a whole.”Al Shabaab has been on Canada’s official registry of terror entities since 2010. A description calls it the “strongest, best organized, financed, and armed military group in Somalia,” and cites its links to al-Qaida.On June 6, Artan was questioned for 11 hours by U.S. Customs and Border Protections at Miami International Airport before ultimately being put on a plane to Turkey, via which he returned to Somalia. On Wednesday, Artan arrived in the Somali capital of Mogadishu, where he was given what was widely reported as a “hero’s welcome,” including an audience with Somalia President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.A statement issued to Postmedia by U.S. Customs and Border Protection said that Artan “was determined to be inadmissible due to vetting concerns and was denied entry.”“In British Columbia, (Artan) would be welcomed and celebrated for his accomplishment. We would be thrilled to have him refereeing games here,” B.C. Premier David Eby told a Wednesday press conference in response to news reports about Artan’s inadmissibility.“In British Columbia he would be considered gold, not garbage.”In the same statement, Eby identified Artan as a “refugee” who had overcome “incredible hardships and persecutions.”Premier Eby reacts to the “heartbreaking” story of a Somali World Cup referee who was refused entry into the United States:“In British Columbia he’d be considered gold, not garbage.” pic.twitter.com/qfBJ3mMzXf— Sitka Media (@sitkamedia) June 10, 2026Except Artan is not a refugee, nor has he ever been displaced from his homeland. He is a resident national of Somalia who came up as a referee for the Somali National League and the Confederation of African Football.Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow also publicly invited Artan to officiate at World Cup matches in Toronto; the opening game is set for Friday afternoon.“Toronto believes in fairness, inclusion and giving talent the opportunity to shine. He would be welcome to referee here in our city,” she said in an official statement, adding “I will be writing to FIFA to let them know he is welcome to referee here.”As a CTV report on Chow’s invitation noted, “Chow would not have been privy to the reasons U.S. officials denied Artan admission to the U.S.”Even if he had been granted entry to Canada, however, Artan would still be ineligible to officiate at the World Cup, given that FIFA has headquartered its referee operations out of Miami.Artan had been en route to a 10-day, Miami-based referee training session along with 51 other referees designated for the tournament.Neither Chow nor Eby has any power over the admissibility of foreign nationals to Canada, and it’s also not a guarantee that Artan would pass the screening protocols of the Canada Border Services Agency.Canadian border guards are known to reject entry to foreign nationals who have been denied U.S. visas.This was the case last month when U.K.-based Muslim activist Anas Altikriti was turned away at Montreal’s Pierre Trudeau International Airport while he was en route to a Muslim Association of Canada event in Toronto.As Altikriti stated in a Facebook post, the reason cited was that he had not disclosed a 2023 incident in which he had been denied entry to the United States. Toronto Police Constable Marc Pinizzotto was killed Thursday in an incident with national security implications. Pinizzotto was part of an emergency response team executing a raid on a Toronto address linked to a series of shooting attacks in Toronto, including one made against the city’s U.S. consulate in March. The raid occurred soon after the U.S. officials announced the arrest of Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi, an alleged Iranian agent accused of overseeing North American terror cells, including the one behind the Toronto consulate attack.After the Carney government has spent the last 12 months feverishly trying to expand trade ties with everyone except the United States, an illuminating feature story by Reuters has shown why the effort might be stalling out.An analysis by reporter Promit Mukherjee found that one of Canada’s signature appeals to global markets is its access to the United States. Thus, as Prime Minister Mark Carney has loudly proclaimed an end to U.S.-Canadian economic integration, the effect has been to scare away the European and Asian markets that were supposed to replace it.Mukherjee anonymously quotes one senior Canadian government official as saying that free trade with the U.S. “has been kind of a baseline of our investment attraction message.” He also cites a Japanese embassy official saying basically the same thing.“For many of the Japanese companies investing here, one of the reasons for their investment is definitely the special access Canada has enjoyed over the long years,” said Ishii Hideaki, deputy head of mission at Japan’s Ottawa embassy.All of this might explain why the Carney government seems to have undergone a sudden about-face in its U.S. strategy, and is now actively trying to woo and appease Washington.In a speech in New York City last month, Carney said that a strong Canada would “help make America great again.”Ottawa has also suddenly taken an interest in reducing the mandatory CanCon contributions for U.S. broadcasters operating in Canada, and in cracking down on the number of products made with “forced labour” finding their way into the Canadian market.Both issues were notably itemized in a list of Canadian trade grievances issued earlier this year by the Trump White House. Toronto-born comedian Ryan Long made some jokes at Winnipeg’s expense after performing three sets in the city last week. In response, he got this letter from Winnipeg mayor Scott Gillingham explaining how Winnipeg is actually fine, and thanking him for visiting. “I’ve changed my mind and Winnipeg is great go jets,” said Long in a social media reply.First Reading is a Canadian politics newsletter curated by the National Post’s own Tristin Hopper. To get an early version sent directly to your inbox, sign up here. Get the latest from Tristin Hopper straight to your inbox Join the Conversation This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.