Top African referee Omar Artan denied entry to USA for World Cup

Omar Artan was expecting to officiate at the World Cup this summer (Picture: Getty Images)

Somali referee Omar Artan has been denied entry into America, where he was due to referee at the World Cup this summer.

The 34-year-old had travelled to the United States via Kenya and Türkiye, granted a diplomatic passport in Nairobi in an attempt to help his travel.

Somalia is one of the countries on the travel ban list brought in by President Trump.

Despite FIFA claiming last week that Artan’s visa situation had been ‘fully resolved and he will now be available to officiate at the FIFA World Cup,’ he has been denied entry into the US.

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