Somali referee Omar Artan, who was denied entry to the United States for the World Cup, has been appointed as the referee for the UEFA Super Cup.
Omar Artan was due to be the first referee from Somalia to officiate at a World Cup after being named Africa’s best male referee in 2025. However, after being denied entry to the country at Miami International Airport by Customs and Border Protection following a lengthy interrogation, he was denied entry to the US, despite holding a diplomatic passport.
Andrew Giuliani, the executive director of the White House Task Force on the World Cup defended the decision this week, stating:
“To this point, we’ve had 35 teams that have come into the United States. No players, no coaches have been denied.
“There have been some officials that have been denied, and for good reason.”
The decision was met by mass criticism, and as Artan returned to Somalia, he received a hero’s welcome on arrival in Mogadishu.
Somali officials called for the football world to rally in support and Uefa has stepped in to reward Artan with the task of officiating the Super Cup fixture between Paris Saint-Germain and Aston Villa in Salzburg on 12 August.
Uefa, European football’s governing body, said discussions with the Confederation of African Football (CAF) led to the appointment for the high-profile game.
“Football is made to connect people, and Uefa wants to show its respect to Omar and his outstanding officiating skills, which had earned him such a prestigious nomination,” said Uefa’s president, Aleksander Ceferin. “I am grateful to my friend Caf president Patrice Motsepe for supporting enthusiastically our initiative.”
Motsepe said Artan had made Africa “extremely proud”, adding: “This is a great honour for Omar Artan and for African referees and is also an excellent example of football, bringing together and uniting people from Africa and Europe and worldwide.”
