German politician hit out at World Cup referee being denied US entry

German politicians have condemned the decision of the United States to deny a World Cup referee entry into the country and have called on football's ruling body FIFA to intervene.

“FIFA president [Gianni] Infantino must now urgently demand that the US honour the commitments it made there, rather than continuing his conciliatory approach," the chair of the parliamentary sports commission, Aydan Özoğuz, told publishers Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND).

Social Democrat Özoğuz said that in its effort to host the tournament the US had accepted the bid book which stipulates that hosts must fully respect human rights in relation to the event.

“Under no circumstances must we leave the spirit of the World Cup to the whims of the host country. The damage is already considerable,” she said.

Green Party foreign policy spokesperson Boris Mijatović spoke of a “disgrace for world football."

Referee Omar Artan of Somalia arrived in the US at Miami airport with valid travel documents but was then questioned for several hours by US Customs and Border Protection officers. The CBP then denied him entry and deported him to Istanbul from where he had arrived.

Speaking only of a World Cup referee from Somalia without naming him, the CBP said that he was "determined to be inadmissible due to vetting concerns and was denied entry.”

CNN later said they were told by an official of President Donald Trump's administration that "the vetting uncovered 'derogatory information, including association with suspected members of terror organizations.'"

The report said the official "did not provide further details on the alleged association with terror organizations."

Somalia is among 39 countries on which the US has imposed strict immigration measures and among a smaller group of countries with a complete US entry ban. In the country, the Al-Shabaab militia has been fighting the government for many years in some parts of the country and is rated a terrorist organization.

FIFA has dropped Artan from the referees list and said it has no saying in immigration matters.

“In line with previous FIFA events, a host government ultimately determines who receives a visa and who is admitted into their country,” FIFA said.

Named African Referee of the Year 2025, Artan was to be the first referee from Somalia to officiate at a World Cup and one of seven African referees for the tournament in the US, Mexico and Canada which kicks off on Thursday.

Artan told the New York Times he was interviewed for 11 hours and then detained before being deported.

"I had the right papers and everything. I had the right visa," Artan said.

Somalia's sports ministry said he was denied entry to the US without a valid reason and Artan has reportedly returned home by now.