European football body, UEFA, has appointed Somali referee Omar Artan to officiate the 2026 UEFA Super Cup after he was not allowed into the United States to officiate in the 2026 FIFA World Cup taking place in the US, Canada, and Mexico.
UEFA said Mr Artan will referee the August 12 game between Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain and the Europa League winners, Aston Villa, in the Austrian capital, Salzburg.
The European football regulator said this follows discussions with its sister confederation, the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
Mr Artan got a hero’s welcome returning to Somalia on Wednesday, days after he was refused entry in Miami by US authorities despite being picked by FIFA for World Cup duty. US officials claimed Artan had connections to terror organisations without offering proof.
“The decision to appoint Artan to officiate the UEFA Super Cup match has been made in the framework of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) recently signed between UEFA and CAF to encourage cooperation in many areas, including refereeing. UEFA and CAF are united by a shared commitment to developing football at all levels and promoting the core values of unity, equality and non-discrimination,” UEFA said in a statement on Thursday.
Speaking on this development, Mr Aleksander Čeferin, UEFA president, said, “Omar Artan is an excellent young but already experienced referee, who has proven himself at the highest competition level of the Confederation of African Football. Football is made to connect people, and UEFA wants to show its respect to Omar and his outstanding officiating skills, which have earned him such a prestigious nomination. I am grateful to my friend CAF President Patrice Motsepe for supporting our initiative enthusiastically.”
Adding his input, Mr Patrice Motsepe, CAF president, said: “Omar Artan has made Somalia and the entire people of the African continent extremely proud. His receipt of the CAF Men’s Referee of the Year Award 2025 and his appointment as a referee of the FIFA World Cup 2026 are a recognition of his world-class refereeing ability and the international respect that he enjoys.”
“I am very thankful to my friend, Aleksander Čeferin, for enabling Omar Artan to officiate the UEFA Super Cup 2026 match. This is a great honour for Omar Artan and for African referees and is also an excellent example of football, bringing together and uniting people from Africa and Europe and worldwide,” he added.
The heroic referee has established himself as one of the world’s top referees and has been on the FIFA international list since 2018. Among the most notable matches he has officiated is the second leg of the 2025/26 CAF Champions League final. In recognition of his performances, he received the CAF Men’s Referee of the Year Award 2025.