By JAMES ROBSON, AP Soccer Writer<\/p>\n
ATLANTA (AP) \u2014 The Somali referee who was denied entry to the United States<\/a> for the World Cup<\/a> will still be paid his full tournament fee.<\/p>\n A person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press that Omar Artan<\/a> will still be entitled to payment despite not officiating any games at the near six-week long event. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.<\/p>\n They said the fee would be determined after the tournament concludes next month.<\/p>\n Artan is one of soccer\u2019s top officials and was named Africa\u2019s best male referee in 2025. But the Somali national was denied entry after arriving at Miami International Airport from Istanbul last week.<\/p>\n U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Artan was \u201cinadmissible due to vetting concerns\u201d.<\/p>\n He had originally been issued a visa to travel to the U.S., according to the Somalia Embassy in Kenya, which processed it, and was due to meet up with other World Cup referees at their training base in Miami.<\/p>\n FIFA said it was not involved in the immigration processes and that the host government ultimately determines who is granted entry. As a result it said Artan would not be able to train and officiate at the World Cup.<\/p>\n The 34-year-old Artan was given a hero\u2019s welcome when he returned to Somalia earlier this week and vowed to attend the next edition of the World Cup \u2014 mainly staged in Morocco, Portugal and Spain \u2013 in 2030. He was also appointed to officiate one of European soccer\u2019s showcase games<\/a>, the UEFA Super Cup in August.<\/p>\n \u201cFootball is made to connect people and UEFA wants to show its respect to Omar and his outstanding officiating skills,\u201d UEFA president Aleksander \u010ceferin said in a statement.<\/p>\n James Robson is at https:\/\/x.com\/jamesalanrobson<\/a><\/p>\n