As the North America-hosted World Cup kicks off today in Mexico, most Americans are ... well, waiting for real football season to start at the end of the summer.
But if anyone thought that the left in America would focus on celebrating the athletes competing in the world's biggest international soccer tournament instead of trying to find any reason to use the event to hate the Trump administration, think again.
The leftists have already found their World Cup hero. It is not the USA's Christian Pulisic, England's Harry Kane, or even the elder statesmen of the sport, Lionel Messi of Argentina or Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal.
Nope. The most lauded participant in the World Cup is a Somali referee that no one has ever heard of, Omar Artan. And it turns out that Artan won't be participating in the World Cup at all -- at least not in the United States.
Over the weekend, Artan was denied entry into the US. If you listen to the left, he's just an innocent man who the US is cruelly punishing because of his race and nationality.
Omar Artan was meant to be the first Somali referee to officiate at a World Cup.
— NBC News (@NBCNews) June 11, 2026
But after landing Saturday in Miami, where the referees’ training base is, he was detained and questioned for 11 hours, he says, before being sent back home. https://t.co/Duo6av3a6m
According to NBC News, Artan's denial was due to the Trump administration's discriminatory anti-immigration policies.'
He is not an isolated case: 15 Iranian officials have also been denied entry, according to Iranian state media, as has the official Iraqi team photographer. An Iraqi player, Aymen Hussein, and other teams say they have been subjected to intensive and sometimes invasive searches at the border.
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If your first reaction to this is to say, 'Good!' then you are a normal person. But your second reaction should be that NBC News is omitting a pretty critical part of the story in its tweet and headline.
Because, of course, they are.
And here it is:
🚨Top Somali referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan, Africa’s best in 2025 , was denied U.S. entry by CBP after an 11-hour interrogation over suspected AL-SHABAAB and AL-QAEDA affiliate ties.
— Brigitte Gabriel (@ACTBrigitte) June 10, 2026
Derogatory information exposed associations with terror organization members. FIFA removed him… pic.twitter.com/O3HRhb0l5O
... from the 2026 World Cup roster.
National security isn’t optional. Vetting travelers from jihadist hotspots is due diligence, not prejudice.
America First means keeping threats out.
Well, what do you know?
The fact that Artan is being welcomed home as a hero in Somalia is even more justification for denying his entry. But really, the sympathies with terror groups are the only rationale we need.
These inconvenient details have not deterred the leftist media from running with a false narrative, however. Over the past couple of days, all of the usual suspects have denounced the Trump administration for enforcing our national security.
Omar Artan is back in Mogadishu.
— BBC News Africa (@BBCAfrica) June 10, 2026
The Somali referee was set to become the first man from his country to play an on-pitch role at the World Cup.
Artan was barred from entering the US despite holding a diplomatic passport and a single-entry US visa.
👉 https://t.co/7G1XWgm4KN pic.twitter.com/tdcMrt63LS
Somali referee Omar Artan received a hero’s welcome in Mogadishu after being denied entry to the United States for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. https://t.co/Pre0Mhs8Cf
— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) June 10, 2026
FIFA president Gianni Infantino on Omar Artan, a Somali referee who was due to officiate at the World Cup but has been denied entry to the United States:
— The Athletic | Football (@TheAthleticFC) June 10, 2026
“It’s unfortunate what happened to Omar. But again, we don't control everything. We try, we discuss, we see. Maybe it's good… pic.twitter.com/4vsfWv0ZzZ
Of course, all of these stories either bury or omit entirely the details about what was discovered in Artan's interviews with CBP officials.
America's resident Somali pirate in Congress, who hates this country, was obviously outraged.
This is such a shameful decision by the Trump administration. The World Cup is supposed to be an event that transcends divisions and allows people to come together for the love of the sport. Omar Artan might have been denied entry even after being granted a visa but his story…
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) June 9, 2026
... and talent will be celebrated long after this racist administration leaves office. Viva Mr. Artan
When all else fails, just shout racism. That's the only card she knows how to play.
Even worse than Ilhan Omar was one take from a leftist in Europe that NBC News dragged from obscurity to lecture us about our country:
'There’s a moral obligation to let people enter the country: that’s the whole point of the World Cup, that’s the universality of it,' said Ronan Evain, executive director of Football Supporters Europe, a Germany-based organization that advocates for soccer fans worldwide. 'Now feels like the White House and FIFA have taken the world out of the World Cup.'
A moral obligation to let people into the country?
Yeah, that's why Germany has been conquered by Islamists without a single shot being fired.
The hyperbole, while predictable, is hilarious. One terrorist-supporting referee, not even a player, has been sent home, and suddenly we're shutting out the entire world?
Thankfully, most Americans are not taking the media bait.
He was denied entree because of ties to a terrorist group.
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) June 10, 2026
So of course Ilhan Omar wants to let him into the U.S… https://t.co/me2aAAKqWu
She might even want to marry him ... but only if they're related.
No one named Omar should be allowed to set foot in America https://t.co/JAPgu0HwgK
— Prince Abert (@Abert_Squirrel) June 11, 2026
Particularly not anyone named Omar who thinks that there have been 11 world wars.
You just know that if he was let in he was going to open a Learing Center https://t.co/fMvYKqQXlA
— Mattias 2.0 (@BanAllBooks) June 11, 2026
HA!
He is associated with a terrorist organization.
— Allan USA 🇺🇸 (@m72953176) June 11, 2026
You guys are truly POS! pic.twitter.com/LtYYLz9CIu
Two terrorist organizations, actually.
Which just makes NBC and the rest of the legacy media love him all the more.
Lol here we go with the “first ___to ever…” garbage again.
— ToddMac14 (@mac14_todd) June 11, 2026
Except he has ties to terrorists you knobs🫠
Now he's the first black Somalian to be banned from officiating a World Cup.
— Useless Tree (@_Useless_Tree_) June 11, 2026
LOL.
Hey, there are all kinds of 'firsts.'
Alternative title—
— /\♦️/\ (@NameThatPattern) June 11, 2026
Omar Artan was meant to be the first Somali referee to officiate at a World Cup.
But even a last-ditch Diplomatic passport effort to thwart scrutiny couldn’t overshadow his potential ties to a dangerous terrorist organization. https://t.co/3qLFJ6cgHg
The diplomatic visa was definitely a gambit to turn this into a media narrative. We cannot confirm it, but we have heard reports that Artan was denied entry months ago. The visa was an effort to circumvent our laws.
— KatLadyNE (@KatLadyNE) June 11, 2026
Yeah, we're going to need an entire box of Kleenex to wipe our tears for Omar Artan.
Canada, the failed nation to America's north, has announced that it would welcome Artan to officiate World Cup games there, but it is likely too late for that, as he has already been removed from FIFA's official roster for the tournament. But leave it to Canada to welcome in even more terrorist sympathizers.
Artan will just have to settle for being a 'hero' in his own hellhole country.
We're fine with that. As long as he stays out of ours.
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