Referee from Somalia: UEFA deliberately gives him this stage

It was two months ago when Artan, 34, was denied entry into the USA in Miami. At the time, the serious accusation made by the US authorities against the referee, who actually had a flawless career, was that he was in contact with “suspected members of terrorist organizations.” Coming from a difficult background, Artan had earned an excellent reputation through the Somali league, was the first Somali to referee a final of the African Champions League, was voted Africa’s Referee of the Year in 2025 and was consequently nominated for the World Cup by FIFA. Then participation in the host country USA failed.

And FIFA’s powerlessness. President Gianni Infantino said the world football association is “just a sports organization”: “We have to respect that we are not the kings of the world.” These were restrained sentences that are rarely heard from Infantino in this form. But even if the decision was “unfortunate,” Infantino and FIFA obviously did not want to defend themselves against the US immigration authorities in order to enable the Somali referee to play in the World Cup. Which in turn UEFA recognized as an opportunity.

“A lot of people have compassion for me,” says Artan in a UEFA video

In June, a few days after the incident in Miami, Artan was nominated by the European Football Association for the Super Cup game in August. A remarkably early appointment, the political nature of which is even clearer after the events of the past few weeks: Uefa, which now openly opposes Infantino as FIFA president, is not coincidentally giving Artan a fairly large stage in the heart of Europe. As part of a “Memorandum of Understanding” between Uefa and the African Football Association Caf, better cooperation on the subject of referee replacement was decided in April. However, the implementation was remarkably prompt and is staged accordingly.

In any case, it was no coincidence that cameras were there when we arrived in Salzburg; normally the flight movements of the referees at the Supercup are more of a side note. In the case of Artan, however, an interview even appeared on the UEFA website in which the referee was praised as an outstanding figure in his field. And in which he was able to talk about his missed World Cup: “It was a very difficult time,” Artan said: “A lot of people feel for me because when someone has worked for many years and is supposed to do something but then can’t do it anymore, that’s a big challenge. But I really appreciate the support I’ve gotten from all over the world. I’m so grateful.”

Uefa is “the best confederation for referees in the world,” Artan said. And Caf president Patrice Motsepe, commonly known as a supporter of Infantino, also had his say at UEFA. The nomination is “a great honor”: “It is an excellent example of how football brings people together and unites them.”