The United States has thrown the upcoming FIFA World Cup tournament into further chaos after refusing and revoking visas for visiting fans and officials over the past several days.
According to global news reports, the American authorities have:
- Denied entry for Somalian referee Omar Artan, who was voted the best African match official in 2025. Somalia was placed on a travel ban list by U.S. President Donald Trump last year.
- Denied visas for Iranian administrative and management members of the country’s footballing delegation.
- Denied the necessary visas for Iranian and African sports journalists.
- Delayed entry for Iranian, Iraqi and Swiss national team players due to various visa procedures and complications.
- Relocated the Iranian team’s training base to Mexico and will only allow the players to travel to the U.S. a day before their opening match.
- Revoked electronic travel authorizations for some Scottish fans days before they were due to depart.
- Refused visas for dozens of Moroccan fans and abruptly withdrew the ticket allocation for Iranian supporters.
- Subjected the Senegalese and Uzbekistan team staff to extensive security checks.
Canada, one of the tournament co-hosts, has not issued any official statement regarding the latest interruptions.
In April, Canadian border staff turned away Iranian footballing officials, forcing them to miss the pre-tournament FIFA Congress in Vancouver. Palestinian football officials also had difficulties obtaining Canadian visas for the conference.
Today, David Eby, premier of British Columbia, wrote on X: “Mr. Artan [the Somalian referee] would be welcomed and celebrated in British Columbia for what he’s overcome and where he is today. Let’s have him referee in Vancouver.”
FIFA confirmed that Artan would not be officiating at this year’s tournament due to the Americans’ decision to deny him entry.
In a video posted to TikTok, English footballing legend Ian Wright said “is this how the hosts behave, really, for the greatest game, the greatest tournament in the world?”
“How are we not hearing more, how we seen how Qatar got dragged” he added, referencing the Gulf state that controversially hosted the tournament in 2022.
The revocation of tickets for Iranian fans comes as the Trump regime continues to negotiate a ceasefire with Iran, after the U.S. and Israel launched an unprovoked war of aggression against it in February.
Talks were thrown up in the air on Tuesday as Trump vowed to respond to an alleged Iranian attack on an American helicopter.
According to news reports, Iranian players arriving in Mexico this week wore pins commemorating 168 school girls who were killed in an American missile strike during the first days of the war.
In December 2025, two months before the war began, FIFA President Gianni Infantino presented Trump with a “peace prize” during a ceremony in Washington.
The first World Cup games between Mexico and South Africa, and South Korea and Czechia, will be held in Mexico on June 11. Canada will face Bosnia and Herzegovina in Toronto on June 12.
Iran’s first game, against New Zealand, is scheduled for June 15 in Los Angeles.
Besides visa complications, fans have also complained about sky-high costs associated with the matches. In Boston, fans face train fares costing more than four times the usual rate to reach the city’s stadium.
