Posted on 06/10/2026 6:11:52 AM PDT by MinorityRepublican
Omar Artan was refused entry to the United States to work as a referee at the World Cup due to alleged links to terrorism, the Trump administration has said.
Artan is widely considered to be Africa's finest referee, but was removed from FIFA's list for the tournament after US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) turned him away at Miami International Airport. The 34-year-old from Somalia was put on a return flight to Turkey, where he had been in transit from Kenya.
Speaking to the New York Times, Artan said he was "very disappointed" by the decision. "I had the right papers and everything. I had the right visa," Artan added.
The Trump administration has since moved to justify its decision to bar Artan from entering the country. "This individual was seeking admission to the United States," a statement from an administration official said, as reported by the Mirror US.
"Upon further inspection by CBP, derogatory information, including association with suspected members of terror organizations, was discovered, making the traveller ineligible for admission to the United States under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).
"The traveller was refused admission and given immigration forms that provide the section of law used to complete an expedited removal under 8235 of the INA. President Trump's administration will not allow any security threat to enter our country - full stop."
(Excerpt) Read more at mirror.co.uk ...
Dear FRiends,
We need your continuing support to keep FR funded. Your donations are our sole source of funding. No sugar daddies, no advertisers, no paid memberships, no commercial sales, no gimmicks, no tax subsidies. No spam, no pop-ups, no ad trackers.
If you enjoy using FR and agree it's a worthwhile endeavor, please consider making a contribution today:
Click here: to donate by Credit Card
Or here: to donate by PayPal
Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794
Thank you very much and God bless you,
Jim
ROTFL! GOAL!!!!!! GOAL!!!!
So the lightbulb head is a jihadi. Color me shocked.
Is this what you voted for???
YES!!!!!!
Thbbbbbbbt! Big whoop. That's like being named the tallest midget in Norway.
I’m confused... Is he a terrorist who works part-time as a soccer referee... Or is he a socker referee who works part-time as a terrorist???
Either way... Refusing him entry seems sensible.
“I had the right papers and everything. I had the right visa,” Artan added”
Somalis never lear.
If we haven’t already, just ban all immigration from Somalia.
Low IQ, muzz rage fueled, fraudsters offer nothing of value. As for the percentage that are the exception- go fix your own country.
Sounds like winning to me.
“Why are they being allowed in?”
Because they qualified for the competition
... damned with faint praise.
And there’s no chance that one...or more...of the team members are working for the 9th Century savages currently ruling Iran?
I watched about 3 minutes of a soccer game last night; soccer, most boring game ever.
I suspect it seemed more like 3 hours.
Just being a soccer player is good enough for me to deny entry to the U.S.
Only the Iranian team members are being allowed in.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.