The head of human rights at the UN (United Nations), Volker Turk, called on the United States to reconsider its immigration practices for the World Cup this Wednesday (10). The request comes after Donald Trump’s government barred fans and referees, in addition to interrogating players who will participate in the tournament.
“I really hope that there will be a consideration of how immigration enforcement is impacting human rights and human dignity, and that especially for the World Cup, there will be a reassessment of the policies that we have unfortunately seen prevail, especially in the US,” he told reporters.
The United States has tightened inspections and restricted access even to people involved with the World Cup on the eve of the start of the tournament. The greater rigor has generated criticism from fans.
FIFA (International Football Federation), organizer of the event, avoids commenting on the issue and claims not to be involved in the immigration processes of the host countries.
So far, the main people affected are people linked to the teams of Iran, Iraq, Senegal and Uzbekistan, as well as a referee from Somalia. Some of these countries are among the targets of the immigration restrictions adopted by the Trump administration.
This Tuesday (9), the FFIRI (Football Federation of Iran) stated that its ticket quota was revoked a few days before the start of the World Cup. The decision left Iranian fans who had already made travel plans without the possibility of attending the team’s games.
The episode was compounded by the US decision to bar the entry of Somali referee Omar Artan. He was among the 52 referees selected for the tournament and was questioned for 11 hours. On Saturday (6), Iraqi attacker Aymen Hussein was subjected to an interrogation lasting almost seven hours. Hussein was eventually allowed to enter the country, but a photographer in the delegation did not receive the same authorization.
Videos of players from Senegal and Uzbekistan being searched by security teams at airports and stadiums also went viral.
There are fears that the Donald Trump administration’s anti-immigration policy will intensify during the World Cup. The measures have been based on entry restrictions and deportation of irregular immigrants, but foreigners with temporary but legal immigration status have also reported approaches and expulsions.
In a document released in April, more than 120 American organizations warned foreign fans, players and journalists about significant risks of human rights violations during the tournament.
In the document, entitled “Notice to Travelers”, the entities draw attention to the possibility of arbitrary denial of entry into the country, detentions without legal guarantees, deportations and inhumane treatment.
The head of the White House Task Force for the 2026 World Cup defended this Tuesday the United States’ decision not to grant visas to a Somali referee and part of the Iranian national team delegation.
“To date, we have had 35 teams that have come to the US,” said Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the task force, at an event hosted by the Atlantic Council in Washington.
“No player or coach was denied entry,” he added. “There were some leaders who were denied entry, and for very good reasons.”
Giuliani, son of former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, was asked specifically about the decision to ban Somali referee Omar Artan from entering the country.
“Although I can’t go into details, what I can say, broadly speaking, is that it was for a very good reason,” he said.
With AFP
