WH World Cup chief defends Iranian visa denials, says Somali referee was barred ‘for good reason’

WASHINGTON, DC: Even before the kickoff, the 2026 FIFA World Cup has become embroiled in controversy, with the White House facing scrutiny for barring a Somali referee and members of the Iranian team's support staff from entering the United States.

After arriving in Miami on a flight from Istanbul over the weekend, Omar Artan was turned away by US authorities, forcing him out of the global sporting event just days before the opening match.

Earlier, Iran accused the US of denying visas to "integral" members of its national football team's backroom staff, hours after Washington allowed Iranian players to travel to the upcoming World Cup.

The controversy follows the detention of Iraq's star striker, Aymen Hussein, who was interrogated for nearly seven hours at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport after arriving in the US.

Now, the head of the White House Task Force for the World Cup has defended the decision to deny visas to Artan and members of the Iranian team's staff.

White House defends World Cup visa denials

Andrew Giuliani, the of the White House Task Force for the World Cup, said that while 35 teams have successfully entered the United States for the tournament, certain officials have been denied entry for valid reasons.

"No players, no coaches have been denied," said the son of former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani. "There have been some officials that have been denied, and for good reason."

"We're striking that balance between making sure that any bad actors that...try to come into the country under the guise of the World Cup will not get access to the United States," he added.

When asked specifically about the decision to bar Artan from entering the country, Giuliani replied, “For very good reason.”

"While I can't go into the details, what I can tell you, high level, is it was for a very good reason,” he continued.

Andrew Giuliani says Trump seeks World Cup fairness

Giuliani said Trump wants to ensure a "level playing field" for every team competing in the World Cup while making sure that people "directly working" with the IRGC "have no ability to access the United States of America."

The envoy then went on to claim that "all the Iranian coaching staff is coming in," but that there are "some Iranian officials that are not coming in, again for very good reason."

He said he "can't get into the particulars" but added that "there are some people that claim that they are coaches that may not be coaches."

While stressing that there are "no credible threats" facing the World Cup, the envoy said the intelligence community has "tripled down" on security efforts and will remain vigilant "between now and whenever the final goal is scored on July 19."