FIFA faces Empty Seats as 180,000 World cup tickets hit resale market
Somali🇸🇴 referee Omar Artan was stopped at Miami International Airport in June 2026 and sent back to Istanbul, ending his chance to become the first Somali official at a World Cup. Artan had been named CAF Referee of the Year for 2025 and was one of 52 officials selected by FIFA for the 2026 tournament across the US, Canada and Mexico. He arrived with a valid visa, FIFA accreditation and a diplomatic passport issued by Somalia’s embassy in Nairobi after earlier visa issues, but US Customs and Border Protection said he was inadmissible due to vetting concerns after an 11 hour screening and detention. US authorities didn’t give a detailed reason, though Somalia is on the list of countries covered by the Trump administration’s travel restrictions.
FIFA confirmed Artan would not be able to train or officiate at the World Cup and said it has no authority over host country immigration decisions. Somalia’s Ministry of Youth and Sports called the move a blow to fairness and merit in football, noting Artan had a clean record and was traveling on official duty. The incident has raised questions about how host country visa rules can override FIFA appointments, especially for officials from countries under US travel bans. FIFA replaced him on the officiating list, and the case has become a flashpoint in the wider debate about access and mobility for athletes and officials at global events hosted in the US.
According to a renowned Writer Hopewell Ch'inono, It is already shaping up to be the worst FIFA World Cup in modern times, so nothing surprises us anymore. It has become a total joke, overshadowed by controversy, exclusion, empty seats, and decisions that have undermined the very spirit of a tournament that is supposed to unite the world through football.
When hundreds of thousands of tickets are ending up on the resale market and fans are being shut out, it is clear that something has gone badly wrong. This is not the celebration of global football that FIFA promised the world.
- Fifa World Cup News.