Denial of entry to a referee based on their nationality affects the impartiality of the entire tournament

On 8th June 2026 Somali referee Omar Attan has been denied entry to the US for the World Cup participation.

Excluding a referee from a tournament based on his nationality means that the organisers are enforcing partiality before a ball has even been kicked.

This technically also affects the credibility of impartiality for all other participating referees, as their nationality becomes a criteria for selection.