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Fifa to Pay Somali Referee Artan Full World Cup fee
Somali referee Omar Artan, who was denied entry to the United States to officiate at the World Cup, will still receive his full tournament fee.
Artan was interrogated for 11 hours by US immigration authorities at Miami International Airport on Monday before being told he would not be allowed into the country after his diplomatic passport and single entry US visa were rejected.
A US government official said Artan had not been allowed to enter the country because of an alleged “association with suspected members of terror organisations”.
Artan said he had been questioned by border officials over his links to Somali militant group Al Shabab and had told them he knew nothing about the organisation.
“I had the right papers and everything. I had the right visa,” said Artan.
“I’m just simply a referee who’s trying to live his dream, the biggest dream of my life, to come to the World Cup.”
After being put back on a plane to Turkey, Artan received assistance from Fifa officials in Istanbul before boarding a flight to the Somali capital Mogadishu.
Sources said that even though Artan will take no part in the World Cup, Fifa has committed to paying his salary.
Referees do not know the actual fee they will receive for officiating at the World Cup, which is paid after the tournament is over.
Artan, the 2025 Confederation of African Football (Caf) men’s referee of the year, has since been invited to officiate the Uefa Super Cup between Paris St-Germain and Aston Villa in Salzburg, Austria on 12 August.
The 34-year-old, who thanked “my people and my country” after being welcomed in his homeland, has vowed to officiate at the 2030 World Cup.
Artan had a year to remember in 2025, becoming the first Somali to take charge of a continental final.
In June 2025, he officiated the second leg of Pyramids FC’s African Champions League final victory over Mamelodi Sundowns.
Fifa appointed Artan to the U-20 World Cup in Chile, where he took charge of three matches including the third-place play-off.
At the end of the year he refereed two group games at the Africa Cup of Nations, having also officiated at the tournament in 2024.
Brazil head coach Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed that Neymar is fully fit and ready to play a full 90 minutes against Norway in their FIFA World Cup 2026 round of 16 clash.
The Brazil boss has revealed that the Santos ace will appear alongside the Real Madrid star as the South Americans continue their World Cup campaign.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Ancelotti said: “Neymar can play 90 minutes… and he can play with Vinicius Jr.
“I think they WILL play together.”
The South American side have never beaten Norway in four meetings and will be seeking their first win on Sunday night as Ancelotti plans his side to face the likes of Martin Odegaard and Erling Haaland.
The country’s all-time top scorer, Neymar, made his long-awaited World Cup debut in Brazil’s third group-stage match against Scotland in Miami, coming on in the 76th minute.
Neymar made a total of 15 appearances with his Brazilian club across all competitions in the 2025/26 season.
Since 2017, the star has suffered over 45 injuries and missed more than 270 matches, significantly interrupting his career.
In 2018, he played every 90 minutes of all five Brazil matches despite recently recovering from an ankle injury.
But, in Qatar, Neymar missed much of the group stage after receiving a tackle in the opening game against Serbia.
The Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) has unveiled a 12-man D’Tigers squad for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 African Qualifiers in Luanda, Angola.
The qualifiers, tagged Window Three, will hold from July 2 to July 5, marking the beginning of a new era under Head Coach David Fizdale.
A statement from the NBBF on Monday said Fizdale will make his competitive debut as D’ Tigers coach, bringing decades of NBA coaching experience and expertise in developing elite basketball talent.
“The coach will lead a blend of experienced internationals and emerging players as Nigeria pursues qualification for the 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup.
“The squad comprises Uchenna Ireogbu, Ikenna Ireogbu, Caleb Agada, Martins Igbanu, Paul Dibal and Stanley Okoye.
“Others are Daniel Utomi, Chimezie Metu, Wesley Iwundu, Christian Mekowulu, Kaodirichi Akobundu-Ehiogu and Michael Eric,” the statement said.
Nigeria will compete in Group C alongside Guinea, Rwanda and Tunisia in the decisive phase of the qualification campaign.
It stated that NBBF President, Ahmadu Musa Kida, expressed confidence in the team and welcomed Fizdale to his first official assignment with Nigeria.
“Kida described Fizdale as an experienced coach with the leadership qualities required to guide D’Tigers to greater success in Africa and globally.
“He congratulated the selected players and urged them to represent Nigeria with passion, pride and professionalism throughout the qualifiers,” it said
It quoted Kida as saying, “the federation remains committed to attracting world-class coaches and sustaining a high-performance environment for the national teams.
“Fizdale’s appointment followed the successful tenure of former coach Mike Brown, who elevated Nigeria’s profile in international basketball,” he said.
Kida expressed confidence that experienced players, emerging talents and quality coaching would strengthen Nigeria’s qualification campaign.
He urged Nigerians at home and in the diaspora to support D’ Tigers as they represent the country in Angola.
Nigeria will face Guinea on July 3 before taking on Rwanda on July 5 in Luanda
The top teams from the African qualifiers will advance towards qualification for the FIBA Basketball World Cup in 2027.
United States president Donald Trump will attend the World Cup final and help present the trophy, says Fifa president Gianni Infantino.
Trump, 80, is yet to attend a game at the World Cup, but may still make an appearance before the final on 19 July at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
The World Cup started on 11 June and took place in Canada, Mexico and the United States.
“We will be together with the president enjoying the final and handing the trophy to the winner, of course,” Infantino, now a close friend of Trump, told Fox.
Asked if they would make the presentation together, Infantino added: “Of course, we are together all the time.”
The United States is hosting 78 of the 104 matches at the tournament, which is also being held in Mexico and Canada.
Andrew Giuliani, the executive director of the White House’s World Cup task force, told the Telegraph, external that Trump likes to “leave people watching” and is yet to attend a game because of his busy schedule.
Trump was at the UFC White House event last week, and was recently booed in New York as he became the first US president to attend the NBA Finals, watching game three which the eventual champions the New York Knicks lost 111-115 to the San Antonio Spurs.
Last summer, Trump remained on the winners’ podium at MetLife Stadium after handing the Club World Cup trophy to Chelsea’s Reece James, which caused apparent confusion to some of the players involved.
“They told me that he was going to present the trophy and then exit the stage and I thought that he was going to exit the stage, but he wanted to stay,” said James.
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