Somali referee denied US entry returns home to hero's welcome in Mogadishu

Omar Artan arrived in Mogadishu on Wednesday to flag-waving crowds and a police escort after being barred from entering the United States, ending his historic bid to become the first referee from Somalia to officiate at a World Cup.

Artan had been included on Fifa’s final referee list for the tournament and was due to join fellow officials at their training base in Miami. Despite holding a visa issued by the Somalia Embassy in Kenya, he was turned away at Miami International Airport on Saturday. US Customs and Border Protection cited unspecified “vetting concerns” and offered no further explanation. Fifa subsequently removed him from the list.

Somalia is among nearly 40 countries subject to travel restrictions under the Trump administration’s immigration policies, though US authorities did not link Artan’s case explicitly to those measures.

Hundreds of supporters, government officials, and members of Somalia’s football community gathered at Aden Adde International Airport hours before his plane landed. As Artan disembarked, supporters draped him in the national flag before he was escorted to the VIP terminal, where Somalia’s Minister of Youth and Sports and officials from the Somalia Football Federation were waiting.

Addressing the press, Artan struck a defiant and forward-looking tone. “I promise you, God willing, that I will attend the next one,” he said. “I want the Somali public to take comfort in this and remain confident.”

He also called on Somali youth to channel the moment into national pride. “It is up to all of us to defend the Somali name. Somalia belongs to us, whether it is in a bad state or a good state. That flag belongs to us, and that passport belongs to us.”

Artan had been recognised as one of Africa’s top referees and was named the continent’s best male referee in 2025. His exclusion from the World Cup drew widespread condemnation and raised questions about the United States’ ability to host the tournament without political interference affecting Fifa-appointed officials.

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was among those who publicly acknowledged Artan’s achievement, writing on X that he had “reached the summit of your profession” — a sentiment that resonated across a country where decades of conflict and the influence of the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab extremist group have long constrained opportunity.

For many in Somalia, Artan’s journey — however it ended — stood as a demonstration of what remains possible.