Gary Neville has labelled the United States’ decision to ban Somalian referee Omar Artan from officiating at the World Cup as ‘ridiculous’, with the pundit questioning the host nation’s tolerance.
Artan was set to be the first referee from Somalia to officiate at a World Cup after he had made FIFA’s final list for the tournament.
The official, who was named as Africa’s best male referee last year, was questioned for 11 hours by border officials before being put on a flight to Istanbul, in Turkey.
President Donald Trump’s administration then made a bombshell claim that the referee was denied entry due to terrorism fears.
Artan’s situation was highlighted as ITV began their coverage of the World Cup, with the visa issue among a series of controversies to have overshadowed the final days of build-up to the tournament.
‘We have seen it in Russia, we have seen it in Qatar and now we are seeing it in America which has got the visa issues obviously for the referee, Neville told host Mark Pougatch.
‘Fans are obviously having issues getting into the country, the Iranian team it looks like common sense has mainly prevailed with them and they are now able to travel – even though they are not in this country but they are in Mexico.
‘We have to get referees in that are obviously FIFA officials, I don’t know why FIFA haven’t been stronger on that issue.
‘Fans are obviously having issues getting into the country, the Iranian team it looks like common sense has mainly prevailed with them and they are now able to travel – even though they are not in this country but they are in Mexico.’
