Somali referee Artan says it was 'fate' being denied entry into United States

[p]Artan, Africa's referee of the year ‌in 2025, had been set to become the ‌first Somali to officiate at football's global showpiece, but was ‌turned back by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) ‌over the weekend.[/p][p]The Trump administration said on Tuesday the US had denied Artan entry for the World Cup because of ‌his links to "suspected members of terror organisations".[/p][p][b]"What happened has happened ​and it was fate. I am grateful for the support FIFA gave me," [/b]Artan told reporters ​after arriving in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, and urged his supporters to stand behind their country.[/p][p][b]“Somalia is ours, whether things are good or bad. I want to tell our ⁠youth not to ​lose hope in our country,” [/b]he said.[b] "I am now in my country, and there is no other place I want to be."[/b][/p][embed guid="a075c2c2-6679-45c2-9a78-0f706652af39" url="https://x.com/TheAthleticFC/status/2064430076993618087" social-type="twitter" /][p]The Trump administration's strict immigration policies have ‌been a point of concern before the World Cup, with Washington imposing a sweeping travel ban last year on citizens of 12 countries, including Somalia.[/p][p]A FIFA spokesperson said Artan would now not be able to train or officiate at the tournament, which is being held in the US, Mexico and Canada and starts on Thursday.[/p][p][b]Somalia's government said it had tried unsuccessfully to negotiate with the US ‌and FIFA so that Artan could enter the US ​and was saddened by what had happened.[/b][/p][p]Without identifying ‌Artan, the CBP said a Somali national arrived at Miami International Airport from Istanbul on Saturday and was deemed inadmissible because of vetting concerns.[/p][p]An administration official later said CBP officials had determined that Artan ⁠was a threat ⁠to national security.[/p][infobox id="4ccc1b10-d68f-4c97-bcf4-5e613c17c2e3" /]