UEFA appoints Somalia’s Omar Artan to officiate PSG, Aston Villa Super Cup after FIFA World Cup U.S. entry denial
Europe football’s governing body UEFA has announced that Somali referee Omar Artan, denied entry into the United States of America for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, will officiate the UEFA Super Cup match between Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain and Europa League champions Aston Villa.
UEFA confirmed the decision in a statement on Thursday, stating that the appointment was made possible through the framework of the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the confederation and the Confederation of Africa Football last month.
The match will take place in Austria on August 12, 2026.
“Following discussions with its sister confederation, Confédération Africaine de Football (CAF), UEFA has today appointed Somali referee Omar Artan to officiate the 2026 UEFA Super Cup, which will take place on 12 August in Salzburg between UEFA Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain and UEFA Europa League winners Aston Villa FC,” UEFA said.
The body added, “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.”
The 34-year-old was one of the 52 centre referees initially selected by FIFA to officiate at the World Cup starting on Thursday but was declared inadmissible upon his arrival in the United States on Saturday by Customs and Border Protection before being deported to Turkey, where he had arrived from after 11-hour interrogation.
“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,” CAF president Patrice Motsepe stated in his reaction to the announcement.
We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.
More from Peoples Gazette
Agriculture
FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology
The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices
Politics
Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku
“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”
NationWide
LP expresses confidence in Okereke-Konto’s presidential ticket to unseat Tinubu in 2027
Ms Usman said the Labour Party remained the only major political party fielding a woman as vice-presidential candidate for the 2027 presidential election.
Abuja
Four Abuja supermarket workers arraigned over alleged theft of N2 million
The prosecutor said that the offences contravened the provisions of Sections 79, 314 and 309 of the Penal Code.
Faith
Court orders three-month wait for divorcee before entering new relationship
The woman had filed a divorce petition against Mr Adamu on grounds of neglect while demanding custody of their child.
World
Lebanese PM vows to secure full Israeli withdrawal
Mr Salam called the latest development “a national moment with significant political and moral dimensions” during a visit to the southern town of Zawtar al-Gharbiyah.
Education
Bayelsa education fund trains 100 teachers on reading, phonics
One hundred teachers in Bayelsa are currently undergoing a three-day training on imparting reading skills, structured phonics and literacy.
States
Kaduna woman remanded in prison custody for alleged drug trafficking
The Federal High Court, Kaduna Division, on Wednesday, ordered the remand of a 26-year-old woman in prison custody for possessing 26kg of cannabis.
