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Political leaders in Canada’s World Cup host cities have voiced their support for Omar Artan, the Somali referee who was denied entry to the United States and will no longer be able to officiate his assigned games at the 2026 World Cup.
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Artan arrived in the U.S. on Monday and was turned away at entry, with U.S. Customs and Border Protection saying he was deemed inadmissible at Miami International Airport. On Tuesday, a U.S. official toldESPN that he was denied entry due to “association with suspected members of terror organizations.”
According to the New York Times, Artan was interviewed in Miami for 11 hours by a border official and asked why he had travelled to the U.S., while being pressed on questions around Somali politics and militant groups. Despite presenting his FIFA documentation and, allegedly, a single-entry visa, he was placed on a plane to Istanbul, away from his assigned matches.
British Columbia Premier David Eby, the top political leader overseeing the World Cup’s seven games in Vancouver, expressed his desire to welcome Artan to BC and Canada, where he would likely be allowed entry and could officiate in some of the 13 games, split between Vancouver and Toronto.
“Mr. Artan would be welcomed and celebrated in British Columbia for what he’s overcome and where he is today,” Eby said on social media. “Let’s have him referee in Vancouver.”
Toronto mayor Olivia Chow, whose city will host six games at the tournament, including Canada’s opening match on Friday afternoon against Bosnia and Herzegovina, echoed the sentiment.
“Denying entry to Omar Artan, who has earned his place on the world stage through hard work and perseverance, is not right,” Chow said in a statement. “Toronto believes in fairness, inclusion, and giving talent the opportunity to shine. He would be welcome to referee here in our city. I will be writing to FIFA to let them know he is welcome to referee here.”
While both reached out in the media, Artan arrived back in Somalia on Tuesday to a significant welcome at the airport, after posting that “despite the circumstances,” he was “in a positive mood and I am focused on the next challenges in my refereeing career.”
Why Couldn’t Artan Take Canada’s Offer?
Artan likely won’t be able to accept Canada’s offer to referee any of the 13 games, as all FIFA officials for the tournament are required to attend an on-pitch training camp in Florida, where they will undergo final preparations and security protocols for the matches.
He said as much in a statement published after his denial, and upon his arrival in Mogadishu, to a large crowd and a hero’s welcome.
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“I promise you, God willing, that I will attend the next one,” he told a crowd at the airport, according to The Associated Press. “I want the Somali public to take comfort in this and remain confident.”
Trump’s World Cup Impact
Artan’s denial is the latest chapter of the Trump administration’s policies impacting the 2026 World Cup. Somalia is one of 12 countries under a full entry ban, which took effect in June 2025.
Before the World Cup draw in Washington, D.C., last December, Trump said Somalia was “barely a country, you know, they have no anything, that Somali immigrants should “go back to where they came from” and that the U.S. would “go the wrong way if we keep taking in garbage to our country.”
He spoke in the lead-up to an immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota, which features a large Somali community.
The denial of Artan’s visa adds to the troubles several countries have experienced entering the 2026 World Cup in the U.S., highlighted by Iran’s relocation of their base camp from Tucson, Ariz. to Tijuana, Mexico, as well as the issues facing DR Congo due to the growing Ebola outbreak in their region and the challenge fans are facing from Haiti, one of the 12 countries on Trump’s banned list.
While the World Cup is set to kick off in Mexico on Thursday, the U.S. and Canada will host their first games on Friday, as issues continue to arise despite FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s assurance that the world would be welcomed in 2025. “Everyone will be welcome in Canada, Mexico and the United States for the FIFA World Cup next year,” he previously stated. “There is a process to go through to get visas and so on. But this process will be smooth.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as ‘Not Right’-Barred Somali Referee Sent World Cup Invitation by Canadian Politicians.
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This story was originally published June 10, 2026 at 6:05 AM.