Former England and Arsenal striker Ian Wright described this summer’s World Cup as ‘chaos’ after a Somali referee set to officiate was denied entry to the United States.
Omar Artan was set to become the first from his country to officiate at a World Cup and was selected as one of 52 referees for the tournament.
However, after being denied entry to the United States, world governing body FIFA confirmed he will now be removed from its roster.
In a video post on social media, Wright highlighted other incidents that have occurred in the build-up to this summer’s tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico and described it as a ‘World Cup of chaos’.
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‘I’ve just read that the Somalian referee has been denied entry. Every few hours it’s another story, another story about fans denied, players denied, officials denied, journalists denied, now refs,’ Wright said.
‘You know something I’m laughing but it’s not funny, it’s actually not funny and something has to be said.
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‘The expensive tickets, the most expensive tickets ever, expensive accommodation, transport through the roof. It has to be said.
‘Is this how the hosts behave really for the greatest game, the greatest tournament in the world, is this how the hosts behave?
‘Are we not hearing more? Are we seeing how Qatar got dragged, are we not hearing more? Is this the spirit of football, really?
‘You know who I feel for? I feel for the American fans who are desperate for this, American soccer fans who are desperate for this, how embarrassed they must be. How embarrassing for them this must be.
‘This is the World Cup, this is a World Cup of chaos. Whoever wins this World Cup is going to have to go through some serious chaos to get this done.
‘I hope we can do it, but something has to be said now. This is the World Cup.’
On Monday, a FIFA spokesperson said: ‘FIFA can confirm that match official Omar Abdulkadir Artan will be unable to train and officiate at the FIFA World Cup 2026 after he was denied entry into the United States.
‘FIFA is not involved in host country immigration processes, including visa adjudications, and has been informed by authorities that Mr Artan’s status will not be changed at present.
‘In line with previous FIFA events, a host government ultimately determines who receives a visa and who is admitted into their country.’
Artan, who has officiated at the Africa Cup of Nations, was reportedly turned away at Miami International Airport last weekend despite possessing valid travel documents.
Somalia is one of a number of countries whose citizens have been the subject of a complete ban on travel into the United States that was implemented in June last year.
Steve Cockburn, head of economic and social justice at Amnesty International said in a statement: ‘In recent days and weeks there have been reports of a significant number of examples of people being refused visas or entry to the United States for the tournament.
‘This includes, for example, Somali referee Omar Artan, members of Morocco’s supporters’ group and journalists from Africa and Iran.
‘Amnesty is not able to provide comment on individual cases, as we do not know the precise grounds for refusal, but is deeply concerned that these and other refusals may be examples of highly restrictive and discriminatory policies’