Gianni Infantino, FIFA, Omar Artan, Iran
10 June 2026
Gianni Infantino defended FIFA’s handling of World Cup visa and entry controversies after Somali referee Omar Artan was refused admission to the United States and Iran faced restrictions around its tournament base, ticket allocation and delegation access.
Infantino said FIFA cannot dictate government border decisions and urged critics to chill and relax, drawing criticism for offering limited public support to affected officials, teams and fans before Mexico face South Africa in the opener.