Despite being barred from entering the United States where he was scheduled to officiate at the 2026 World Cup, Somali referee Omar Artan will benefit from a significant gesture by FIFA. The world football governing body has decided to pay him the full salary he would have received had he been able to participate in the tournament.

Financial compensation and a European final as consolation prizes

Back in Somalia for a few days now, the 34-year-old referee—named the best referee on the African continent for the 2025-2026 season—will therefore suffer no financial loss. While this compensation is substantial, it will not be enough to erase the immense disappointment of a shattered dream.

To compensate for this twist of fate, UEFA has also given him a major opportunity: Omar Artan will referee the European Super Cup final , which will pit PSG against Aston Villa on August 12 in Salzburg.

Detained at the border on false suspicions

Welcomed home as a hero, Omar Artan will ultimately watch the World Cup from his own country. He spoke emotionally about the interrogation he underwent at the US border, where authorities questioned him for hours about possible links to the militant group Al-Shabab, an organization he claims to know nothing about.

“I had all the paperwork in order. I had the right visa. I am simply a referee trying to realize his dream, the biggest dream of my life: to attend the World Cup,” he confided.

Despite this terrible disappointment, the African referee does not intend to stop there and is already looking to the future: he has expressed his dearest wish to be able to officiate at the 2030 World Cup .