“I think they have a problem with my country,” Omar Artan expresses his frustration after being barred from the World Cup
The Somali referee, who was turned away from the United States, recounted his ordeal upon arrival at Miami airport.
Omar Artan’s situation shocked the football world on Monday 8 June. Selected by FIFA to officiate during the World Cup co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, the Somali referee was prevented from entering US territory.
He was sent back to Turkey. It was from Istanbul that he gave an interview to the New York Times about his ordeal in the United States. Omar Artan explained that he had been questioned for 11 hours upon his arrival on American soil before being sent back to Turkey. Yet, he claimed, he had the necessary documents.
“I am really, really disappointed. I am just a referee trying to live his biggest dream, to go to the World Cup. I had the right papers and the right visa. I think they have a problem with my country.”
