Somalian referee Omar Artan, who was denied the chance to referee at the World Cup after being refused entry to the United States, will take charge of the UEFA Super Cup between Paris Saint-Germain and Aston Villa on Wednesday.
Before the World Cup started in June, the 34-year-old referee unwittingly found himself in the media spotlight after being turned away on arrival at Miami International Airport, despite being part of the panel of referees selected by FIFA for the tournament.
“It was a very tough period,” Artan said in an interview published on the UEFA website.
“A lot of people have sympathy for me, because when someone has been working a lot of years and is supposed to do something, and then can’t do it, it’s very challenging.”
A US State Department official told AFP that the referee was “associated with suspected members of terrorist organizations”, therefore “making the traveler ineligible for admission to the United States”.
