Somalia is not competing at the World Cup, but from the scenes at Mogadishu’s airport Wednesday, you’d think the country had won the trophy.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.A crowd of supporters, blue-bereted police and journalists jostled to get close to the plane that had just taxied to the terminal ramp.Stepping off the airliner was not a victorious soccer team, however, but rather the man who has become an emblem of what critics say are America’s strict anti-immigration policies colliding with the world’s biggest sporting event.Omar Artan, 34, was meant to be the first Somali referee to officiate at a World Cup, selected for the tournament starting Thursday in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
But after landing Saturday in Miami, where the referees’ training base is, he was detained and questioned for 11 hours, he says, before being sent back home.He is not an isolated case: 15 Iranian officials have also been denied entry, according to Iranian state media, as has the official Iraqi team photographer.An Iraqi player, Aymen Hussein, and other teams say they have been subjected to intensive and sometimes invasive searches at the border.The U.S.
government gave assurances to FIFA years ahead of the soccer tournament that “eligible athletes, officials and fans from all countries around the world” would be able to attend.But preparations for the tournament faced uncertainty due to travel bans and restrictions imposed under President Donald Trump that prevent or severely limit entry to the U.S.
for citizens of 39 countries.Other World Cup tournaments were far from flawless, from the authoritarianism of Russia in 2018 and the human rights concerns of Qatar in 2022, right back to the tournaments held under Mussolini’s Italy in 1934 and Argentina’s junta in 1978.But the spectacle of refusing entry to an accredited referee is unprecedented in the modern era, triggering widespre...