, external<\/span><\/a> he had faced an 11-hour immigration interview and was detained for several hours before be was put on a flight back to Istanbul, Turkey.<\/p>\nSpeaking to BBC World Service, Andrew Giuliani, who leads the White House Task Force on the World Cup, said: “While I can’t go into the derog (derogatory information) on that I can tell you it was the right decision by customs and border patrol and I support that decision.”<\/p>\n
It was not possible for Artan to stay outside the United States and referee matches played in Canada or Mexico, with all on-pitch officials based in Florida for training, preparation, and security.<\/p>\n
Trump placed a full entry ban under any visa category for 12 countries, including Somalia, in June 2025.<\/p>\n
Two days before the World Cup draw in December 2025, Trump drew widespread attention for comments made about Somalia in the lead up to a planned immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota, which has a large Somali community.<\/p>\n
“With Somalia, which is barely a country, you know, they have no anything,” he said. <\/p>\n
“They just run around killing each other. There’s no structure.”<\/p>\n
He added that Somali immigrants should “go back to where they came from” and that the US would “go the wrong way if we keep taking in garbage to our country”.<\/p>\n
On arriving home, Artan urged Somalia’s youth not to lose hope in their country in the face of his treatment, stating: “Let’s all defend Somalia’s honour. We all belong to Somalia whether it’s bad or good. <\/p>\n
“That flag is ours and so is the passport – let’s defend it.<\/p>\n
“The youth shouldn’t be demoralised about their country. Despite this happening to me, I’ll still stand for my nation.<\/p>\n
“I want to continue my journey from here and urge the youth to do the same.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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