RismadarVoice Reporters
June 10, 2026
The head of the White House Task Force for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Andrew Giuliani, has defended the decision to deny entry visas to Somali referee Omar Artan and some Iranian team officials, saying the actions were taken for security reasons.
Speaking at an event hosted by the Atlantic Council in Washington on Tuesday, Giuliani said the United States remained committed to ensuring a safe and secure tournament while preventing individuals deemed security risks from entering the country.
“To this point, we’ve had 35 teams that have come into the United States. No players, no coaches have been denied,” Giuliani said.
“There have been some officials who have been denied, and for good reason.”
According to him, the U.S. government is balancing the need to host a successful World Cup with efforts to prevent potential threats from exploiting the tournament to gain access to the country.
“We’re striking that balance between making sure that any bad actors that try to come into the country under the guise of the World Cup will not get access to the United States,” he said.
Giuliani specifically addressed the case of Somali referee Omar Artan, who was denied entry at Miami International Airport despite being selected by FIFA to officiate at the World Cup.
Artan, who was named the Confederation of African Football’s Men’s Referee of the Year in 2025, would have become the first Somali referee to officiate at a FIFA World Cup.
While declining to provide details, Giuliani maintained that the decision was justified.
“While I can’t go into the details, what I can tell you, at a high level, is it was for a very good reason,” he said.
Somalia is among the countries affected by a travel ban introduced by the administration of President Donald Trump as part of broader immigration restrictions.
Giuliani also addressed concerns raised by the Iranian Football Federation, which alleged that some members of its delegation were denied visas and that ticket allocations for supporters had been withdrawn.
He said all Iranian coaching staff had been granted entry into the United States, but some officials were denied visas due to security concerns.
“All the Iranian coaching staff is coming in, but there are some Iranian officials that are not coming in — again for very good reason,” Giuliani said.
He added that some individuals claiming to be part of the coaching staff may not have held those roles and stressed that the United States would not permit people linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to enter the country.
Giuliani further stated that there were currently no credible threats to the World Cup but noted that intelligence and security agencies remained on heightened alert ahead of the tournament.
He said authorities would continue monitoring the security situation until the competition concludes on July 19.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup, jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, begins this week and will feature 48 teams for the first time in the tournament’s history.
