Somalian referee Omar Artan, who was denied the chance to referee at the World Cup after being refused entry to the United States, will take charge of the UEFA Super Cup between Paris Saint-Germain and Aston Villa on Wednesday.

Before the World Cup started in June, the 34-year-old referee unwittingly found himself in the media spotlight after being turned away on arrival at Miami International Airport, despite being part of the panel of referees selected by FIFA for the tournament.

“It was a very tough period,” Artan said in an interview published on the UEFA website.

“A lot of people have sympathy for me, because when someone has been working a lot of years and is supposed to do something, and then can’t do it, it’s very challenging.”

A US State Department official told AFP that the referee was “associated with suspected members of terrorist organizations”, therefore “making the traveler ineligible for admission to the United States”.

These allegations were rejected by the referee and caused outrage in Somalia, where Artan had been welcomed as a hero on his return.

“It is unfortunate what happened to the referee from Somalia,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino said at the time, adding: “We don’t control everything.”

In response, UEFA, the governing body of European football, announced that Artan would referee the UEFA Super Cup, which pits Champions League winners PSG against the Europa League winners Aston Villa.

“I was lucky, but I have worked very hard to be here, and I’m really proud,” Artan told UEFA.

“As you can imagine, I grew up in a difficult situation, but it didn’t prevent me from pursuing my dreams.”

The first Somali to officiate at the Africa Cup of Nations in 2024, Artan is now set to referee his first match in Europe.

“Having adventures, making memories and learning new things is always great,” he added. “When we got this call, it was, for me and my family, really a very, very happy moment.”

To justify its decision to appoint Artan as referee for the Super Cup, UEFA pointed to the agreement it signed at the end of April with the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to encourage cooperation between the two confederations.

But it is also a political gesture by UEFA, which is regularly critical of FIFA, and one that takes on even greater significance in light of the conflict that has pitted the European body against Infantino for the past two weeks, centring on the abandoned plan to open up the World Cup to private investors.

The plan’s failure was largely due to the revolt led by UEFA, which continues to wield the threat of a boycott of FIFA tournaments, including the World Cups, in an attempt to force Infantino to step down.

New Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca believes managing the club is the best job in football.

The Italian replaced Pep Guardiola after his decade-long reign, having impressed at Leicester City and Chelsea.

Maresca guided Leicester to the Championship title and helped Chelsea win the UEFA Conference League and FIFA Club World Cup.

He also has strong City connections, having managed the EDS side to a PL2 title before serving as a first-team assistant during the club’s historic Treble-winning campaign.

“It’s a fantastic job, it’s nice and exciting and for me, it is a privilege,” he said.

“First of all, the most important thing for me has been that Khaldoon, Hugo and Ferran all speak the same language in terms of, for sure this is a club that has to win games, titles and has to compete, but we also talk about how we can continue to make this club better, season after season.

“This for me from my point of view is very important when all the people speak the same language, it’s very important.

“I was very convinced since day one and the reason why is because I know people inside the organisation and I know how serious they are.

“Again, this is a club that has to win but we have to get better season after season.”

FIFA president Gianni Infantino came under renewed fire on Monday as a joint letter from three confederations — UEFA, CONCACAF and AFC declared football “belongs to no individual”.

Infantino has been the butt of scathing criticism ever since launching, and then withdrawing within days, a plan to bring private investment into FIFA competitions, including World Cups.

FIFA had hit back on Saturday at “a concerted and ongoing effort by some to undermine” football’s governing body and Infantino.

However, Monday’s letter from the governing bodies of European football (UEFA), North and Central America (CONCACAF) and Asia (AFC), showed his critics are unbowed.

“Leadership in football is not a possession. It is not about holding — or demanding — power to be held,” they wrote.

“When trust is broken through deception, when an individual places himself above the collective that entrusted him with authority, that duty has been abandoned,” the confederations added.

The three confederations had been vociferous in their condemnation of Infantino’s plan and had not let up after it was shelved.

CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani is viewed as a potential challenger to Infantino, who will seek a fourth and final term at the FIFA presidential election in Rabat next March.

Candidates have to be declared by November 18.

UEFA’s threat to boycott World Cups if the private investment plan went ahead, in theory depriving the competition of teams including reigning men’s champions Spain and 2026 semi-finalists France and England — proved pivotal in Infantino withdrawing his plan.

Before this debacle, Infantino had looked likely to be unopposed, after overseeing a successful World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

The 56-year-old Swiss, who has been in situ for 10 years, has received the backing of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) while South American governing body CONMEBOL are largely supportive.

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The confederations do not vote as blocs, and there have been some supportive voices for Infantino from CONCACAF, Mexico, and two AFC members — Kuwait and 2022 World Cup hosts Qatar, where he has a house.

Although the proposal has been dead in the water for over a week now — UEFA had termed it “a shabby, opaque, backroom deal” — the confederations harangued him for a lack of judgment.

“FIFA’s recent letter to its Vice-Presidents and 211 Member Associations acknowledges that mistakes were made in the process,” they said.

“It treats this as a failure of communication, when what football witnessed was a failure of judgment.”

Although Infantino had received the “full support” of senior FIFA directors last week in an emergency meeting he called in Morocco, the confederations said it was meaningless.

“This recent meeting, where a select number of members of the FIFA Management Committee — not the full Committee — were summoned abroad, rather than leadership going to Zurich to address the heart of FIFA, its staff, only reinforces these concerns and represents a continuation of the very pattern of conduct that brought us to this moment,” they said.

“It is not the conduct of a custodian of the game, but of one who believes the game is answerable to him.”

Infantino had been basking in the afterglow of a hugely successful World Cup — the largest ever involving 48 teams.

However, the confederations made clear in the letter that it was not just Infantino who had made this possible.

“The growth over the past decade has been real,” they said.

“But that progress was never the work of one individual.

“It was the product of FIFA, the Confederations, the Member Associations, and the thousands of people who dedicate their lives to the game.

“The expanded tournaments, the awarding of the 2030 and 2034 FIFA World Cups, the distribution of resources to associations. These were shared achievements, agreed together, delivered together.”

The confederations signed off their letter by claiming that under Infantino’s leadership “there is silence where there should be accountability, distance where there should be openness”.

“That is why we have taken this stance: not lightly and not alone, but together, and out of duty to the game we serve. Football’s strength has always been its unity,” they added.









AFP