Geneva, June 10: The United Nations’ top human rights official called Wednesday for a “massive rethink” of immigration policies especially in the United States around the World Cup.
Issues around “racial profiling, surveillance and immigration enforcement” were cited by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk even before the 48-nation, 39-day tournament starts Thursday.
Iran’s team was moved from a training camp in Arizona to Mexico, some Iranian officials were denied US entry visas, Africa’s top referee from Somalia was refused entry in Miami and images circulated of a Senegal player being frisked by a security guard on airport tarmac.
“We have seen some of the scenes,” Turk told reporters at a briefing at the UN’s human rights agency headquarters.
“I hope that the issues around racial profiling, around surveillance, around immigration enforcement are not going to affect this World Cup in the way that they have already done,” the Austrian lawyer said.
The US is hosting most of the 104 games in a shared project with Canada and Mexico, though it is only the policies of federal agencies under US President Donald Trump’s administration that have drawn criticism.
“I really hope that there is a massive rethink of how immigration enforcement is respecting human rights and human dignity,” Turk said, “and that especially for the World Cup there is a rethink of the policies that we are unfortunately seeing prevailing especially in the US at the moment.”
Turk said global sports should be “where the world comes together in unity and in peace.”
“It is clear that the environment in which mega sport events including the World Cup take place need to provide a dignified and safe environment, for the teams that compete but also for the supporters, for the whole society and frankly for the world,” he said.
Fans from countries like Morocco and Scotland, who spent thousands of dollars on flights, hotels and tickets for the most expensive World Cup ever, have reported having their travel documents denied or revoked just days before they were due to travel.
FIFA’s bidding rules in 2017 for nations wanting to host this World Cup stated visa processing “must be applied in a non-discriminatory manner,” with the caveat it must not “adversely affect the national immigration and security standards.”
US links referee to terror groups
In the case of Somali referee Omar Artan, a US official said he was refused admission due to “association with suspected members of terror organisations,” though without specifying details or providing proof.
FIFA was unable to protect the referee it picked for World Cup duty despite its president Gianni Infantino building closer ties to Trump and administration officials in the past 18 months.
FIFA also has aligned itself with UN guiding principles on business and human rights that it pledged should be respected at its tournaments.
Turk highlighted a wider point about the treatment of people worldwide moving between different nations.
“I also hope that the dehumanization of the other, the dehumanization of migrants, the dehumanization of refugees and asylum seekers is put to an end,” he said. “Nobody benefits from divisive and polarizing narratives.”
Somali referee arrives home to hero’s welcome
Artan was received by a crowd of supporters and officials Wednesday as he arrived in Somalia’s capital of Mogadishu, where he said he plans to be at the next World Cup and urged Somali youths to be proud of their country.
Artan was set to be the first referee from Somalia to officiate at a World Cup after making FIFA’s final list for the tournament. He is one of Africa’s top referees and was named the continent’s best male referee in 2025.
He was denied entry at Miami International Airport on Saturday over “vetting concerns,” US Customs and Border Protection said in a statement without giving details of those concerns.
Artan was issued a visa to travel to the US last week, according to the Somalia Embassy in Kenya that processed it.
He returned to a hero’s welcome at the airport in Mogadishu, where he thanked the Somali government and people as well as FIFA for their support for him.
The US’s highly unusual move to deny a FIFA-appointed match official permission to enter a World Cup host country drew outrage across the world and raised questions among some fans about America’s capacity to host the competition. (AP)
