Omar Artan: Somali Referee Denied US Entry for World Cup Gets UEFA Super Cup Appointment

• Omar Artan, who was denied entry into the United States for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, has received a landmark new appointment
• The 34-year-old Somali referee will become the first non-European to officiate a UEFA Super Cup final
• The Super Cup, which is the curtain-raiser for the European football season, will see PSG and Aston Villa contest for the title on August 12

Somali referee Omar Artan has been handed a historic UEFA Super Cup appointment just months after being denied entry into the United States ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The 34-year-old will take charge of the clash in Salzburg, becoming the first non-European referee to officiate the prestigious fixture.

His appointment follows a memorandum of understanding signed between UEFA and CAF in April 2026, aimed at strengthening cooperation between the two confederations, including in refereeing.

He received the news in early June, shortly after returning from the United States.

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Who is Omar Artan?

Artan has experienced a remarkable 18 months, establishing himself as one of Africa's leading referees.

He became the first Somali official to referee a CAF Champions League final and was named CAF Men's Referee of the Year for 2025.

His performances also earned him a place at the 2026 World Cup.

However, his World Cup dream was cut short when he was refused entry into the US and could not officiate at the tournament.

Rather than allowing the setback to derail him, Artan stayed active by officiating league matches in Somalia.

He later took charge of the Kuwaiti Premier League title decider in June.

Artan reacts to UEFA Super Cup appointment

The Super Cup appointment has given Artan another reason to celebrate, particularly after the disappointment of missing the World Cup. He told UEFA:

"When we got this call it was, for me and my family, really a very, very happy moment," he said.

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"There's a big Somali community in Europe and in Austria, and they are over the moon with me officiating a match like this."

Artan also explained the preparation that goes into handling major European fixtures.

"We referees go through a lot of preparation in terms of getting to know the teams," he explained.

"I always watch the teams play. I like watching European football anyway but, regardless, I go through and do a lot of research on the teams, how they play, learn their behaviours, tactics and a lot of things like that."

His officiating team includes assistants Liban Abdoulrazack Ahmed of Djibouti and Stephen Eleazar Onyango Yiembe of Kenya, with Rade Obrenovič of Slovenia as fourth official.

Marco Di Bello of Italy will serve as VAR, assisted by Spain's Guillermo Cuadra Fernandez.

FIFA reacts to Omar Artan's World Cup setback

Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported that FIFA had addressed the controversy surrounding Omar Abdulkadir Artan after his hopes of officiating at the 2026 FIFA World Cup were dashed.

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Following discussions with United States authorities, FIFA confirmed that Artan will not take part in the tournament.

Source: YEN.com.gh