Omar Artan, the Somalia referee cut from the World Cup after being denied entry at Miami International Airport, arrived in Mogadishu to a packed, flag-waving welcome as he vowed to attend the next World Cup and urged Somali youth to stay proud.
MOGADISHU, Somalia — Omar Artan stepped off the plane in Mogadishu to a scene that felt bigger than sport. Hours before he arrived at Aden Adde International Airport. hundreds of supporters. government officials. and members of Somalia’s football community had gathered. waving Somali flags and waiting for a man who had been one step away from the biggest stage in football.
When he disembarked, the crowd surged in close as Somali flags were draped around him. Police escorted him to the airport’s VIP terminal, where he was welcomed by Somalia’s sports minister and other dignitaries and then spoke to journalists.
This homecoming followed a shock in the United States. Artan was denied entry at Miami International Airport on Saturday over “vetting concerns,” U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement without giving details of the concerns. FIFA responded by cutting him from the tournament’s referee list.
Artan had been set to become the first referee from Somalia to officiate at a World Cup after making FIFA’s final list for the tournament. He is one of Africa’s top referees and was named the continent’s best male referee in 2025.
The visa was already in place. The Somalia Embassy in Kenya said it processed a visa to travel to the U.S. last week, and the U.S. — which is co-hosting with Mexico and Canada — was where Artan was due to meet up with other World Cup referees at their training base in Miami.
After returning to Mogadishu, he thanked the Somali government and people, as well as FIFA, for their support. Standing in front of supporters who had turned the arrival into a public moment, he promised his next step. “I promise you, God willing, that I will attend the next one,” Artan said. “I want the Somali public to take comfort in this and remain confident.”.
He also framed the passport and the flag as belonging to the people, not the bureaucracy. “It is up to all of us to defend the Somali name,” Artan said. “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.”
Outside Somalia, his case landed with a jolt. The U.S.’s move to deny a FIFA-appointed match official permission to enter a World Cup host country drew outrage across the world and raised questions among some fans about America’s capacity to host the competition.
The fallout has come amid wider restrictions. Somalia is one of nearly 40 countries subject to new travel restrictions under the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration. On Wednesday. the United Nations’ top human rights official called for a “massive rethink” of immigration policies. especially in the United States around the World Cup.
Even as disappointment lingered in a country shaped by decades of war and the rise of the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab extremist group, Artan’s story landed as a reminder of how far ambition can reach. For many watching, it was the rare proof that the dream is possible before it’s met by a closed door.
That sense of turning-point hope was echoed from abroad too. On Tuesday. World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus — from neighbouring Ethiopia — wrote on X that Artan’s expected milestone at this year’s World Cup “stands no matter what.” Ghebreyesus added: “You reached the summit of your profession and inspired a generation back home just by getting there. and being kept off the pitch you earned doesn’t change that.”.
In Mogadishu, the message was delivered face-to-face. Surrounded by supporters who had come hours ahead and flags that snapped in the air as he arrived, Artan left no room for silence about what comes next.
Omar Artan Somalia referee FIFA World Cup denied entry Miami International Airport Mogadishu welcome Aden Adde International Airport U.S. Customs and Border Protection vetting concerns Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus al-Shabab immigration travel restrictions