Aydan Özoguz, the Chair of the Bundestag Sports Committee, is demanding that Gianni Infantino, the President of FIFA, intervene regarding the situation in the United States. The issue concerns Omar Artan, a Somali referee nominated for the 2026 World Cup, who is currently being denied entry into the country.
Speaking to the “Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland,” Özoguz argued that Infantino must urgently compel the United States to adhere to the commitments it made, rather than maintaining a lenient approach. She pointed out that when the US applied to host, it accepted the “Bid-Book Unity,” which stipulates that the United States must fully respect human rights related to the event. Artan is a highly skilled individual, having been awarded best referee in Africa last year. Özoguz emphasized that these entry reprisals are not limited to him but also affect fans and teams from Iran, Senegal, and Haiti. “We absolutely cannot leave the spirit of the World Cup up to the arbitrary decisions of the host country. The damage is already substantial,” she stated.
Boris Mijatovic, a foreign policy expert with The Greens, characterized the refusal to allow Artan entry as a “blame for world football.” He also held FIFA responsible for the situation, arguing that if even nominated tournament participants are affected, it fundamentally contradicts the ideal of global, open sport. According to Mijatovic’s comments to the RND, FIFA must ensure reliable and free of discrimination conditions for participation. This raises a critical question: to what extent have FIFA and the tournament organizers accounted for the known risks associated with US immigration policy when both awarding and executing the tournament?
