World Cup 2026: Somali referee that was denied entry into the United States will be paid in full by FIFA

The Somali referee that was refused entry into the United States to work the World Cup will be paid in full by FIFA, according to ESPN’s Mark Ogden.

Omar Artan was denied entry into the United States earlier this month after arriving in Miami. He was stopped by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which determined that Artan was to “be inadmissible due to vetting concerns and was denied entry.” A U.S. official said that Artan was not allowed in due to “association with suspected members of terror organizations.”

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Under President Donald Trump, Somalia is one of nearly 40 countries whose citizens are unable to enter the United States as part of the administration’s crackdown on immigration.

It’s unclear how many matches that Artan would have been assigned to work during the World Cup this summer, so an exact figure that he will receive is not yet known. But, according to ESPN, he will be “fully remunerated for his commitments at the World Cup.

Artan, 34, was set to be the first referee from Somalia to work a World Cup. He was named Africa’s best male referee in 2025, too. He has since been appointed to take charge of the UEFA Super Cup final between Paris Saint-Germain and Aston Villa in Austria in August.

“I am very, very disappointed,” Artan told The New York Times last week. “I’m just simply a referee who’s trying to live his dream, the biggest dream of my life, to come to the world cup.”

Artan has since returned to the Somali capital, Mogadishu, and was greeted by thousands of supporters at a stadium. He has vowed to attend the next World Cup, which is set to be held in Spain, Portugal and Morocco in 2030.