World Cup Politics: Visa Controversies and Security Concerns
The World Cup has not yet kicked off on American soil, but the politics around it are already in full sprint.
Andrew Giuliani, head of the White House Task Force for the World Cup, has defended the decision to deny visas to Somali referee Omar Artan and several members of Iran’s support staff, insisting security concerns must trump sentiment in a tournament of this scale.
Speaking at an event hosted by the Atlantic Council in Washington, Giuliani set out his case in blunt terms.
“So far we’ve had 35 teams that have come into the United States,” he said. “No players, no coaches have been denied. There have been some officials that have been denied, and for good reason.”
The flashpoint is Artan, a history-making figure for Somali football. Named men’s referee of the year in 2025 by the Confederation of African Football, he stood on the brink of becoming the first Somali to officiate at a World Cup. Instead, he was stopped at Miami airport and sent back, his tournament over before it began.
A US State Department official said the referee was “associated with suspected members of terrorist organisations,” a designation that “made the traveler ineligible for admission to the United States.” No further details were offered, but the label alone ensured there would be no reprieve.
Somalia remains on the travel ban list introduced under President Donald Trump as part of a broader crackdown on immigration, a policy that has long bled into sport. This time, it has collided directly with FIFA’s flagship event.
Giuliani, son of former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, framed the move as part of a wider effort to protect the tournament from exploitation.
“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.
Iran have felt that pressure from another angle. Locked in an ongoing military conflict with the United States, they will play all three of their group matches on American soil but have already been forced into significant disruption. Their training base has been shifted across the border to Mexico, a logistical headache for a team trying to prepare for the biggest stage in the game.
The Iranian football federation says its allocation of tickets for supporters has been revoked and that some members of its backroom staff have also been denied visas. For a team already operating in a politically charged environment, it is yet another layer of complication.
Giuliani insists the core sporting operation remains intact.
“All the Iranian coaching staff is coming in,” he said, before adding a pointed caveat. There are “some Iranian officials that are not coming in – again for very good reason.”
He would not spell out those reasons. “I can’t get into the particulars,” he said, hinting instead at doubts over the true roles of some applicants. “There are some people that claim that they are coaches that may not be coaches.”
The message from the White House envoy was clear: the United States wants a World Cup that feels fair on the pitch, but uncompromising at the border.
Giuliani said President Trump aims to ensure a “level playing field” for all teams, while blocking access to “people that are directly working, let’s say, with the IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps).” Those individuals, he stressed, “have no ability to access the United States of America.”
Security officials, he added, see “no credible threats” to the tournament at this stage. Even so, he described an intelligence apparatus that has “tripled down” in the buildup and will stay locked in “between now and whenever the final goal is scored on July 19.”
The football will eventually take over. For now, the story of this World Cup is being written in visa offices, briefing rooms, and airport terminals, where one stamped passport can mean a dream realised and another denied can end a lifetime’s journey at the gate.
