Top African Referee Barred From Entering the U.S. for World Cup
Source: The New Republic · Bias: Left
Summary
The African continent’s top referee has been banned from entering the United States ahead of the FIFA World Cup.Omar Artan was set to make history as the first Somalian to officiate the World Cup before he was allegedly denied entry at Miami International Airport despite having a travel visa. The reason for his denial was not made immediately clear, although Somalia is one of the countries on President Trump’s travel ban, and has been a frequent target of his racist attacks since he returned to office.“Omar Artan is among Africa’s most respected referees and deserves the support of the entire football community,” Somalia’s Ministry of Youth and Sports adviser and former national team captain, Ciise Aden Abshir said in a statement to Agence France-Presse. “Denying him entry to the United States and preventing him from officiating scheduled matches harms not only him personally but also undermines football’s commitment to fairness, merit, and the spirit of fair play.”Artan is one of many players, officials, coaches, and fans who will run into issues simply getting into the World Cup with America’s aggressive anti-immigration policies—which risk overshadowing the event entirely. Iranian team staff allege they had visas denied, Cameroonian-born Swiss midfielder Breel Embolo was denied entry, and Iraqi striker Aymen Hussein was detained and question in Chicago O’Hare airport for seven hours. Both FIFA and the Trump administration have had a year and a half to prepare for the tournament. It was predictable the entire time that visas for players, staff, and referees would be an issue. And yet, with the tournament three days away, it is engulfed in avoidable chaos.
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