Somali referee, Omar Artan has spoken about the pride he feels ahead of his appointment to officiate the UEFA Super Cup, a landmark assignment that comes just weeks after he was barred from taking charge of matches at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States.

The 34-year-old, who will take charge of Wednesday’s clash between Champions League winners, Paris Saint-Germain and Europa League winners Aston Villa in Salzburg, told UEFA that he considers himself fortunate but insists his rise has been built on years of hard work rather than luck alone.

He explained that his path was shaped by a difficult upbringing in Somalia, one that never stopped him from chasing his ambitions in the game. He also described the opportunity to test himself in Europe for the first time as a chance to gain new experiences, adding that when the call came through, it brought immense joy to him and his family.

Artan’s appointment to the UEFA Super Cup follows a bruising setback earlier this year, when he was denied entry into the United States shortly before the World Cup began, despite having been named among FIFA’s panel of officials for the tournament. He was turned back on arrival at Miami International Airport after a US State Department official linked him to suspected members of a terrorist organisation, an allegation the referee has firmly denied and one that sparked outrage back home, where he was later received as a hero. FIFA President Gianni Infantino described the situation as unfortunate at the time, while acknowledging that the governing body did not have full control over the matter. UEFA subsequently stepped in, handing Artan the honour of the Super Cup assignment in what officials have framed as a gesture of solidarity between UEFA and its African counterpart, CAF.

The appointment makes Artan the first non-European official to referee the UEFA Super Cup, extending a breakthrough career that has already produced several firsts for Somali and African officiating. He became the first Somali referee to take charge of a CAF Champions League final in 2025, the same year he was named CAF Men’s Referee of the Year, and he was previously the first Somali to officiate at the Africa Cup of Nations in 2024.

CAF President, Patrice Motsepe said Artan has brought immense pride to Somalia and the wider African continent, while UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin praised the young official’s proven pedigree at continental level, describing the appointment as a reflection of football’s power to connect people across confederations.

Photo Credit: Getty Images