Football governing body Fifa has removed Somali referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan from the 2026 World Cup officiating roster after American authorities denied him entry into the country, ending what would have been the first World Cup finals appearance by a Somali match official.
Artan, the Confederation of African Football’s men’s referee of the year in 2025, was barred from entering the US at Miami International Airport and is currently in Turkey.
US immigration authorities have not publicly provided a reason for the decision.
In a statement, Fifa said Artan would be unable to participate in the tournament after discussions with US authorities.
Fifa can easily demand the host country to fullfill their obligations, and if not they could let him referree World Cup matches in Mexico and Canada.
True about Mexico and Canada but a demand means nothing without a backing. Your boss can demand or you will be fired. A pilot can demand or you’re kicked off flight. An Uber driver can demand or you will be left behind. Fifa can demand and if denied(sounds like what happened), then what? Yeah it’s a fucked up situation and he should be allowed in to referee but I fifa has no authority to demand he’s allowed entry.
I mean FIFA kinda hosts the whole thing, they have significant power. But they gave Trump a FIFA peace prize and won’t ban Israel despite banning Russia.
The real reason FIFA won’t put in any efort is pretty obvious. It’s a sportswashing tool completely owned by the West.
They have power because they bring tourism to the cities, except they are not selling seats, hotel room or plane tickets as expected by investors according to articles I saw so what power do they have?