White House World Cup chief defends visa ban for Somali referee, Iranians

The head of the White House Task Force for the World Cup has defended the administration's decision to deny entry visas to a Somali referee and certain support staff for the Iranian team. Andrew Giuliani, the executive director of the task force, stated that the U.S. has welcomed 35 teams without issue.

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To this point, we’ve had 35 teams that have come into the United States. No players, no coaches have been denied. There have been some officials who have been denied, and for good reason.

Giuliani emphasized that while no players or coaches have been denied visas, some officials have been barred "for very good reason." He explained the administration's goal is to balance facilitating the World Cup with preventing "bad actors" from entering the country under the event's guise. "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," Giuliani said.

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While I can’t go into the details, what I can tell you, high level, is it was for a very good reason.

The decision specifically affects Omar Artan, a highly-rated Somali referee who would have been the first from his country to officiate at a World Cup. Giuliani declined to provide specific details but reiterated the denial was "for a very good reason." Somalia is among the countries subject to a travel ban previously implemented by the Trump administration.

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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.

Iran's team has also faced visa-related issues, including the revocation of their supporters' ticket allocation and denials for some team staff. Giuliani confirmed that the Iranian coaching staff would be admitted but stated some officials would not be, again citing security concerns. He alluded to potential issues with individuals claiming to be coaches who might not be, and individuals associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) being denied access. Giuliani assured that intelligence agencies are closely monitoring the situation for any credible threats to the tournament.

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all the Iranian coaching staff is coming in but there are some Iranian officials that are not coming in, again for very good reason.