U.S. Admits All Players and Coaches for 2025 Club World Cup; Blocks Somali Referee and Some Iranian Staff Over Security Concerns

Somali referee Omar Artan was turned back at Miami airport after being named men's referee of the year by the Confederation of African Football in 2025. He would have been the first Somali referee at a World Cup. Somalia is listed among countries subject to travel restrictions.

Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House Task Force for the World Cup, defended the decision at an Atlantic Council event in Washington on June 9, 2026. "While I can't go into the details, what I can tell you, high level, is it was for a very good reason," Giuliani said. He also said some officials have been denied entry for good reason.

The Iranian football federation said on June 9, 2026 that some support staff were denied visas and that its allocation of supporter tickets had been revoked. S. soil but moved its training base to Mexico.

Giuliani said all Iranian coaching staff are entering the country. He added that some individuals claiming to be coaches may not be coaches. try to come into the country under the guise of the World Cup will not get access to the United States," Giuliani said.

Giuliani said the goal is to maintain a level playing field for all participating teams while preventing individuals linked to certain organizations from entering the United States. He stated there are currently no credible threats to the tournament. Thirty-five teams have entered the United States so far, and no players or coaches have been denied entry, Giuliani said.

The intelligence community has increased monitoring and will continue to watch developments through the final match on July 19.