Referee Omar Cartan Making History at UEFA Super Cup

Somali referee Omar Abdulkadir Cartan is officiating the UEFA Super Cup today between Paris Saint-Germain and Aston Villa,

International referee Omar Abdulkadir Cartan is making new history in European football tonight, becoming the first referee not from Europe to officiate the UEFA Super Cup match. This major match, taking place tonight at 10:00 PM local time in Salzburg, Austria, features Paris Saint-Germain, the UEFA Champions League winners, against Aston Villa, who won the UEFA Europa League.

This step is significant as it represents a historic achievement that honors Somalia and the entire African continent, with Cartan returning to a high level after being denied entry to the United States to participate in the World Cup last June. Referee Cartan, 34 years old, has been on FIFA's list of international referees since 2018 and was named Africa's best referee in 2025.

Cartan was removed from the World Cup referees after arriving at Miami International Airport, where he was told he had “connections to suspects from terrorist groups.” However, UEFA appointed the referee for the Super Cup match five days later, due to a cooperation agreement between UEFA and CAF. The Chairman of the Somali Football Federation, Ali Abdi Mohamed, described it as a great achievement that Cartan and his two assistants from Djibouti and Kenya were chosen to officiate this match.

The eyes of Somali and African supporters are on the Red Bull Arena in Salzburg tonight, where Referee Omar Abdulkadir Cartan will write a new historical page for Somalia in European football.