U.S. World Cup official backs visa ban blocking Somali referee
A visa denial that stopped a decorated Somali referee at a US airport has drawn fresh attention to how the White House says it is policing access to the World Cup as teams arrive for the tournament. Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House Task Force for the World Cup, defended the decision not […]
A Somali referee, Omar Artan, was denied entry to the U.S. for the World Cup due to alleged ties to terrorist organizations.
What was announced
- Andrew Giuliani defended the visa denial, stating that no players or coaches have been denied entry.
- The U.S. State Department indicated that the referee was associated with suspected members of terrorist organizations.
- Omar Artan was set to be the first Somali referee at a World Cup but was turned back at Miami airport.
Context
The visa denial highlights ongoing scrutiny of individuals associated with certain countries, including Somalia, under U.S. immigration policies.
“We’re striking that balance between making sure that any bad actors that…try to come into the country under the guise of the World Cup will not get access to the United States.”
Why this matters: This incident underscores the challenges faced by Somali representatives in international events and reflects broader immigration policies affecting Somalia.
Original report with a saved translation · English
English · Machine translated · Not human reviewed
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A visa denial that stopped a decorated Somali referee at a US airport has drawn fresh attention to how the White House says it is policing access to the World Cup as teams arrive for the tournament.
Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House Task Force for the World Cup, defended the decision not to admit the official and said similar scrutiny has been applied to some members of Iran’s delegation.
“To this point we’ve had 35 teams that have come into the United States,” Mr Giuliani said at an event hosted by the Atlantic Council in Washington.
“No players, no coaches have been denied,” Mr Giuliani said. “There have been some officials that have been denied, and for good reason.”
Source noteWhy this story appears
This report is shown because it came from Warkasta’s monitored source network and matches the current section, recency, and coverage labels.
Why this story appears
This report is shown because it came from Warkasta’s monitored source network and matches the current section, recency, and coverage labels.
- Source count
- 1
- Sources used
- Jowhar
- Language mix
- English
- Translation status
- Shown in its original language
- AI synthesis
- No AI synthesis is used for this story panel
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