Reasons for preventing the Somali referee from entering the United States to participate in the 2026 World Cup

 US Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Malin commented on the decision to prevent Somali referee Omar Abdelkader Artan from entering the United States, where he was scheduled to participate in refereeing the 2026 FIFA World Cup matches. Malin pointed out that the authorities took this decision based on suspicions about the referee’s connections with terrorist organizations. He said: "We will not allow people who have criminal records or who may have links to crime to enter the country. I do not care about your situation. I will not go into the details of why this person was banned, but there is a reason for that. The leftist media is trying to portray this ruling as a victim because of our stance against Somalia, but this is not true," Anadolu Agency reported.