The 23rd edition of FIFA World Cup, the biggest sporting event in the world, is set to take place in the United States of America, Canada, and Mexico from June 11 to July 19. However, some of the people who are supposed to be there for the World Cup may not even make it there due to US President Donald Trump’s immigration policies.
Iran, with whom US are at war at the moment, had to change their training base from the US to Mexico at the last minute. The Iranian team has all their group stage matches scheduled in the US, but they are supposed to fly in and out of US on matchdays, giving them no chance of acclimatizing to the conditions. Iran has further said that 15 of their support staff have been denied US Visas altogether.
However, it is not just the Iranian team that is bearing the burnt of US Visa rules. Somalian referee Omar Artan, who was set to be the first Somali to referee at the World Cup finals, has been dropped from the list of officials after he was denied entry to the United States.
Somalia is one of the countries on the visa ban list of Donald Trump’s administration.
Artan, who was the 2025 Confederation of African Football (CAF) men’s referee of the year, was barred from entering USA at Miami International Airport.
FIFA accepted the decision by the United States and issued a statement which read, “Fifa can confirm that match official Omar Abdulkadir Artan will be unable to train and officiate at the Fifa World Cup 2026 after he was denied entry into the United States.”
“FIFA is not involved in host country immigration processes, including visa adjudications, and has been informed by authorities that Mr Artan’s status will not be changed at present. In line with previous FIFA events, a host government ultimately determines who receives a visa and who is admitted into their country”, the statement further read.
