{"id":617580,"date":"2026-06-12T16:02:15","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T16:02:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/?p=617580"},"modified":"2026-06-12T16:02:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T16:02:15","slug":"mullin-stands-ground-over-somali-referee-denied-access-to-us-for-world-cup-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/?p=617580","title":{"rendered":"Mullin stands ground over Somali referee denied access to US for World Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/div>\n

Homeland Security Sec. Markwayne Mullin was unapologetic over a Somali \u201creferee\u201d being denied entry into the United States for the World Cup \u2013 an Iraqi \u201cstaff member\u201d was also denied entry.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not gonna let people with criminal ties\u2026. to come into this country. I don\u2019t care what your situation is,\u201d Mullin said when asked by a reporter about the rejection. \u201cI\u2019m not going to get into why we denied this individual, but there\u2019s a reason why this person was denied.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe left media wants to report he\u2019s a victim because we are \u2018anti-Somalian\u2019 \u2014 no we\u2019re not. We work closely with FIFA (F\u00e9d\u00e9ration Internationale de Football Association)\u2026 and anybody that was denied we made the case for, and showed why they were denied.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\"\ud83d\udea8\" JUST IN: DHS Sec. Markwayne Mullin REFUSES to back down after a Somali \u201creferee\u201d and Iraqi \u201cteam staff member\u201d were denied entry into the US for the World Cup<\/p>\n

GOOD! Clearly they were dangerous!<\/p>\n

MULLIN: \u201cWe\u2019re not gonna let people with criminal ties to come into this country!\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/7CHn1eqTIJ<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) June 11, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The referee in question, identified as Omar Artan, was refused admission due to \u201cassociation with suspected members of terror organizations,\u201d according to an anonymous U.S. official who commented on the matter covered by visa privacy laws.<\/p>\n

Artan was denied entry at Miami International Airport on Saturday, and FIFA subsequently cut him from the tournament\u2019s referee list, according to the Associated Press.<\/p>\n

\n

A Somali World Cup referee was denied entry into the U.S. after CBP says inspectors uncovered information linking him to suspected members of terror organizations.<\/p>\n

Omar Artan arrived at Miami International Airport on Saturday and was turned away despite reportedly receiving a\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/rXR3KRdyw5<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Fox News (@FoxNews) June 11, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The news agency touted that Artan \u201cis one of Africa\u2019s top referees and was named the continent\u2019s best male referee in 2025,\u201d adding that Artan \u201cwas going to be the first referee from Somalia to officiate at a World Cup after making FIFA\u2019s final list for the tournament.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also received a hero\u2019s welcome when he returned home, according to the AP.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a quick sampling of responses to the story, as seen on X:<\/p>\n

\n

Markwayne Mullin is right: Somali ref Artan had terror ties (Al-Shabaab\/Al-Qaeda flags). Grilled 11 hours, then sent home. Same for Iraqi team photographer.
\nNo criminal baggage gets in. Security first \u2014 thank you, Secretary Mullin!
\nDamn right! pic.twitter.com\/QiN9NETx9H<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Rochellemaryn \"\ud83c\udf39\"\"\ud83d\udd4a\" (@RochelleAz) June 12, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

I\u2019d rather hurt a few people\u2019s feelings than risk the lives on thousands \"\ud83e\uddd0\"<\/p>\n

\u2014 Kevin Peacock (@kevin_peac64157) June 11, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

People from failed state, third world countries cannot be properly vetted in a short amount of time.
\nThe U.S. should not be bum-rushed to let such people into the country for a temporary recreational visit.<\/p>\n

\u2014 A K Noorian (@tutueme) June 11, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

If it was a South African white referee nobody would give a fuck! But since it\u2019s a Somalian referee because of the fraud in Minnesota, democrats and the media want to distract. It\u2019s their new George Floyd.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Fume (@fumeyokosakie) June 12, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

The concern is his association with Al Shabab. Most commonly refers to Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen, a lethal, Somalia-based Islamist insurgent and terrorist group. They released a statement on his behalf. Report that.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Down South Patriot (@kneis816) June 11, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

Being a Ref for the World Cup is the perfect cover to bring harm into America. No person with terrorist ties will enter America under Trump.
\nGot \u2018em and sent him back.<\/p>\n

\u2014 XplusMe (@XplusMe) June 12, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Homeland Security Sec. Markwayne Mullin was unapologetic over a Somali \u201creferee\u201d being denied entry into the United States for the World Cup \u2013 an Iraqi \u201cstaff member\u201d was also denied entry. \u201cWe\u2019re not gonna let people with criminal ties\u2026. to come into this country. I don\u2019t care what your situation is,\u201d Mullin said when asked… Continue reading Mullin stands ground over Somali referee denied access to US for World Cup<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":617560,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[20,23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-617580","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economic-empowerment","category-national-security","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/617580","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=617580"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/617580\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/617560"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=617580"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=617580"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=617580"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}