Somali referee Omar Artan has described officiating the UEFA Super Cup between Paris Saint-Germain and Aston Villa as his “World Cup” after being denied the opportunity to referee at the tournament itself.
The 34-year-old was part of the panel of referees selected by FIFA for the World Cup but was refused entry to the United States when he arrived at Miami International Airport.
Following the incident, UEFA invited Artan to officiate the Super Cup in Salzburg, where Paris Saint-Germain defeated Aston Villa 2-1.
On Thursday, UEFA shared a photograph on X showing a match ball from the fixture on which Artan had written: “This was my World Cup.”
UEFA captioned the post: “A special Super Cup souvenir from Omar Artan.”
