B.C. premier says Somali World Cup ref banned by U.S. would be welcome in Vancouver

Referee Omar Artan, center, of Somalia, is confronted by players after calling a penalty kick during the CAF Champions League final soccer match between AS FAR Rabat and Mamelodi Sundowns, in Rabat, Morocco, Sunday, May 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

VANCOUVER — British Columbia Premier David Eby says a World Cup referee from Somalia who was denied entry to the United States should be allowed to officiate a match in Vancouver instead.

Eby says on social media platform X that Omar Artan “would be welcomed and celebrated in British Columbia for what he’s overcome.”

Artan was going to be the first Somali to officiate at a World Cup, but was denied entry at Miami International Airport on Saturday over “vetting concerns,” U.S. Customs and Border Protection says in a statement.

FIFA says Artan won’t be able to train or officiate at the World Cup, and it’s up to a host government to decide who is admitted into their country.

Artan was issued a U.S. visa last week, according to the Somali Embassy in Kenya that processed it, and was named the Africa’s best male referee in 2025.

Vancouver is hosting seven World Cup matches, while fellow Canadian host city Toronto is hosting six.

“Let’s have him referee in Vancouver,” Eby said in his X post on Tuesday.

The Somalia Youth and Sports Ministry said its embassy in the U.S. was trying to resolve the problem to allow Artan to referee at the World Cup, which opens on Thursday.

The refusal to allow him into the U.S. might be related to the larger travel restrictions on Somalia “rather than any specific allegation against him,” said Isse Aden Abshir, a senior adviser at the Somalia’s sports ministry.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 9, 2026.