At the core of the 2026 World Cup’s most telling controversy so far, it’s too easy to forget the human cost.
Celebrated referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan has had “the biggest dream of my life” destroyed at point of entry, after years of working to get here. That he would have been the first Somali to officiate at the World Cup adds an extra element of poignancy, especially with the way Fifa talks about its work for African football.
