World Cup players, refs among those barred entry into U.S. by racist immigration policies

The 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off in Mexico on Thursday with joy and fanfare, but a different story is unfolding in the United States. Visa bans targeting people of color and those attempting to fly from countries on the federal government’s “travel restriction list” are seeing their entry into the United States denied, which has extended to players, officials, and team employees. Scant information is being given when it comes to the denial of temporary visas, which is helping to underscore why the USA, at this moment in time, shouldn’t have been awarded a hosting role in this World Cup.

Switzerland’s Breel Embolo made headlines last week when the team’s top striker was denied entry into the USA hours before the national team was set to depart. Embolo was placed under a “visa review,” with officials citing concerns about his past criminal record. The soccer star was charged with communicating threats in 2023, which carried a minor penalty of a suspended fine. The nature of the visa review raised serious questions in light of both Embolo’s relatively minor infraction and also the inescapable fact that he is a person of color with an African name. Embolo was allowed entry after appeal, but the visa denial is questionable considering the State Department’s own website states that he would have been allowed entry because his crime didn’t carry a jail term of more than six months, or involve drugs.

Pressure enabled Embolo to make the trip for the World Cup, but the same can’t be said for referee Omar Artan. A Somali national, Artan was set to make his debut as the first referee from Somalia to officiate a World Cup match after he was named 2025’s African Referee of the Year. Artan was detained at Miami International Airport over unnamed “vetting concerns,” and was denied entry to the United States. FIFA removed him from the tournament list of officials, and he returned to a hero’s welcome in the capital Mogadishu. It’s unclear the reason why Artan was banned, outside of Somalia being on the “travel restriction list” put in place by the Trump administration, and overwhelmingly targeting African nations, as well as predominantly Muslim countries.

The Iraqi World Cup team faced issues at the border too, this time at Chicago’s O’Hare airport. Star player Aymen Hussein was detained by immigration officials and subjected to seven hours of questioning before he was allowed entry. Official team photographer Talal Salah was also detained for questioning, but denied entry after 10 hours of questioning over similar “vetting concerns” that led to Omar Artan being denied entry. A veteran sports photojournalist, Salah was set to document Iraq’s first World Cup appearance in 40 years, last appearing in 1986.

Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House’s World Cup Task Force, who only got the job because he’s the son of Rudy Giuliani, didn’t elaborate on any of the reported detentions and deportations, other than defending the denials and saying that the correct decisions were made.

The biggest test of the United States’ immigration policies is underway, with thousands of fans traveling from abroad to visit for the World Cup. All of Iraq’s fans have been denied entry by the USA, leaving their fan sections empty for the group stage — with more stories of people being detained emerging with each passing day.

A lack of transparency is leading to global backlash against the United States for its border policies. Some of the bans seem to be isolated, targeted incidents — but broader action like banning every fan from Iraq makes the restrictions appear to be solely based on nationality, not any specific concerns.

The World Cup is supposed to be the largest global celebration of sports next to the Olympic Games, but there’s already a cloud hanging over the event before the first kick-off. It appears as though the United States is picking and choosing who is allowed in based on nationality, with U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, condemning the United States on Wednesday for its border policies, citing concerns over racial profiling in the visa entry process.

It was always clear this was going to happen. The writing has been on the wall that we were going to see mammoth problems around immigration enforcement for the World Cup, now that’s coming to pass. Meanwhile FIFA remains conveniently quiet, happy to brush aside criticism and state that the USA has the right to ban whoever it pleases — while fans who spent money on tickets, airfare, and accommodation are left holding the bag.

Shame.