Omar Artan was meant to be the first Somali referee to officiate at a #FIFAWorldCup. Instead, after landing in Miami, where the referees’ training base is, he says he was detained and questioned for 11 hours before being sent back home.
Artan is not an isolated case: 15 Iranian officials have also been denied entry to the U.S., according to Iranian state media, as has the official Iraqi team photographer. An Iraqi player, Aymen Hussein, and other teams say they have been subjected to intensive and sometimes invasive searches at the border as well.
For more context and news coverage of the most important stories of our day, click here:
» Subscribe to NBC News:
» Subscribe to Here’s the Scoop podcast:
» NBC News App:
» Breaking News Alerts:
» Visit NBCNews.Com:
» Find NBC News on Facebook:
» Follow NBC News on Twitter:
» Follow NBC News on Instagram:
#ice #worldcup #politics
source
