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MOGADISHU: Somali referee Omar Artan, who was denied entry to the United States for the World Cup, returned to a hero’s welcome in Mogadishu and vowed to take part in the next tournament in 2030. “I will be at the next World Cup and will continue to make Somalia proud... Despite what has happened to me, I am not discouraged,” Artan told more than 100 supporters and journalists at Mogadishu’s main airport.
MEXICO CITY: FIFA President Gianni Infantino is set to face the media on the eve of the World Cup on Wednesday, as off-field distractions dogged the build-up to the tournament. Infantino is likely to face tough questions about sky-high ticket prices and an immigration crackdown that has seen a top referee, fans and team officials barred from co-hosts the United States. The head of world football’s governing body will give a rare press conference in Mexico City, where co-hosts Mexico play South Africa on Thursday in the opening match at the Estadio Azteca. The 2026 men’s World Cup has been expanded to 48 teams and is the biggest and most ambitious in the event’s history, with matches also taking place in Canada. But the refusal of US immigration authorities to allow Somali referee Omar Artan, one of Africa’s leading match officials, into the country underlined fears that Donald Trump’s immigration policy could leave deep scars on the football extravaganza. Artan said the “biggest dream of my life” had been ripped away after he was turned back at the US border. “I am very, very disappointed,” Artan told The New York Times. “I’m just simply a referee who’s trying to live his dream, the biggest dream of my life, to come to the World Cup.” Artan, who was named the 2025 men’s referee of the year by the Confederation of African Football, would have been the first Somali to officiate at a World Cup. He said he was subjected to an 11-hour interview with border officials at Miami International Airport and then detained for several further hours in a holding cell before being put on a flight back to Turkiye. “I had the right papers and everything.
HARRISON: Morocco are concerned about injuries to starters Abdessamad Ezzalzouli and Noussair Mazraoui, who could be forced out of their opening game at the World Cup against Brazil on Sunday. Both went off early in Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Norway in their last warm-up match before this week’s kick-off of the tournament in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Ezzalzouli was replaced at halftime after suffering a leg injury, while Mazraoui departed in the 29th minute with a shoulder problem after a tough encounter in which Morocco took an early lead but Norway equalized with 15 minutes remaining. “We left a good impression despite not winning because we really showed some very good things against a very good opponent,” coach Mohamed Ouahbi told reporters. “That’s the point of playing against teams like this. When you make so many changes (10 in total), it’s difficult for the player but it was important that we managed everyone’s playing time. “Two players went off injured.
Neymar’s recent MRI revealed he’s making “good progress” in his recovery from a calf injury as he attempts to represent Brazil in his fourth World Cup, the Brazilian Football Confederation announced on Monday. “The exam showed good progress in his treatment, within expected parameters,” the statement read.
TIJUANA: Iran’s national football team was greeted Sunday in Mexico by a small group of supporters eager to give them a warm start to the World Cup, despite visa problems facing some staffers. “I’m very excited to see them,” said Sadegh Galavi as he watched the players’ bus leave the airport in Tijuana, cheered on by about a dozen fans. Galavi, a mechanic and resident of this city on the US border, did not hesitate to get up at dawn to welcome the team when it landed at 5:00 am. “My national team is coming to my city, and being here is a small thing I can do just to welcome them,” the man in his thirties told AFP, proudly wearing the white jersey with green and red trim of the Iranian side, known as “Team Melli.” The gesture felt especially important because the tournament is beginning under difficult circumstances for Iran. While the players obtained the visas necessary to enter the United States and play their group-stage matches in Los Angeles and Seattle, not all delegation members received them. About 15 accompanying officials were denied visas, including Iranian football federation president Mehdi Taj, who previously served in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, designated a terrorist group by Washington. Unshakable faith “It makes no sense to me,” Galavi complained.
BAGHDAD: Iraq’s World Cup striker, Aymen Hussein, was held and questioned for nearly seven hours at Chicago’s O’Hare airport after arriving with the squad early on Saturday, an Iraqi sporting official said. Hussein was finally allowed in, but the team’s photographer was barred from entering the United States, said the official who works for the Iraqi Olympic Committee, but has close contacts with the team. There was no immediate comment from the Iraqi Football Association, or from Hussein, a talismanic figure who scored the goal that secured the team’s qualification for the finals. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Homeland Security Department did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment on the reported questioning that was also covered by Iraqi media. Fans came out in the early hours of the morning to greet the Iraq squad at the airport, holding flags and asking players to pose for pictures less than a week before the start of the tournament, video on social media showed. Hussein’s phone was inspected after he arrived, the Iraqi official said. “National team photographer Talal Salah was held for more than 10 hours, underwent similar phone checks, and was ultimately denied entry into the United States,” the official added. Iraq are returning to the World Cup for the first time since making their debut 40 years ago. Hussein, 30, leads a potent frontline that also features Ipswich Town’s Ali Al-Hamadi and talented youngsters Ali Jassim and Youssef Amyn. Iraq face France, Senegal and Norway in Group I. The tournament being co-hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico gets under way on Thursday.
MADRID: Spain have spent the last two years making international football look like a problem someone else has to solve and as the World Cup looms the question for the other 47 teams is blunt enough — who can stop Luis de la Fuente’s red machine?
Spain midfielder Rodri said he is focused on the World Cup and will only address his future at Manchester City after the tournament. The 2024 Ballon d’Or winner is entering the final year of his contract with the Premier League club and has been linked with a move to Real Madrid. “Well, I’m trying not to make too much of it, but it is part of my job, especially when a player has been nearing the end of his contract for some time – it’s only natural that names come up,” the 29-year-old told reporters on Monday. “But anyway, I’m very calm, I know exactly where I stand, and yes probably if there hadn’t been a World Cup, I might be in a different situation now but with a World Cup on the horizon, my responsibility is to stay focused. “We’re here to talk about the World Cup and everything that concerns my future, I’ll wait until the end of the World Cup.” European champions Spain will face Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia and Uruguay in Group H at the June 11 to July 19 tournament in North America. Rodri said he had urged his Spain teammates to follow tennis great Rafa Nadal’s example after watching a documentary about the 22-times Grand Slam champion. “What I told them is that we need to try to play without the ball like a small team. With that mindset of not thinking you’re the best,” he added. “I was just watching the documentary on Nadal and he was always talking about that – always one more ball, one more effort.