The head of the White House Task Force overseeing preparations for the World Cup has defended the decision to deny visas to a Somali referee and some support staff attached to the Iranian national team, saying the move was taken for “very good reason.”
Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the task force, made the remarks on Tuesday during an event hosted by the Atlantic Council in Washington.
According to him, the United States has continued to process entries for participating teams, noting that 35 national squads have already arrived in the country without issue.
“No players, no coaches have been denied,” Giuliani said. “There have been some officials who have been denied, and for good reason.”
He added that the visa decisions were part of broader security considerations aimed at preventing individuals deemed a risk from entering the country under the guise of tournament participation.
“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 said.
Giuliani was specifically questioned about Somali referee Omar Artan, who was reportedly turned back at Miami airport after being denied entry. Artan had recently been recognised as men’s referee of the year by the Confederation of African Football and was expected to become the first Somali official to participate in a World Cup tournament.
While declining to provide detailed reasons, Giuliani said the decision was justified.
“I can’t go into the details, but at a high level, it was for a very good reason,” he said.
Somalia is among several countries affected by travel restrictions introduced under a broader immigration policy framework, which has tightened entry requirements for certain nationals.
Giuliani also addressed concerns surrounding Iran’s participation, noting that while the team itself has been cleared, some officials and support staff were denied visas. Iran is expected to play its group-stage matches in the United States but has reportedly relocated its training base to Mexico due to ongoing geopolitical tensions.
The Iranian Football Federation confirmed that some staff members were denied entry and that supporter ticket allocations had been affected.
Giuliani insisted that all coaching staff necessary for the team’s participation had been cleared to enter the country, while maintaining that denied applications involved individuals whose roles were under question.
“There are some Iranian officials that are not coming in — again for very good reason,” he said, adding that some individuals claiming to be coaches may not have had legitimate roles.
He further stated that there were currently no credible security threats linked to the tournament, but confirmed that intelligence agencies were maintaining heightened monitoring ahead of the event.
The World Cup is scheduled to run with heightened security measures as host authorities balance international participation with domestic safety concerns.
AFP
