Instead of Somali Omar Artan, FIFA appoints an Arab referee for the match between Portugal and the Democratic Republic of the Congo

The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) revealed an Arab refereeing team to officiate the match between Portugal and the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the 2026 World Cup.

FIFA said on its official website that “Qatari referee Abdul Rahman Al Jassim will officiate the match, assisted by his compatriots Saud Ahmed and Talib Salem Al Marri.”
The task of refereeing the match had previously been assigned to Somali referee Omar Artan, one of the Arab referees in the World Cup, but he was excluded from the tournament because he was not allowed to enter American territory because Somalia is on the travel ban list in the United States.

The Portuguese national team will meet the Democratic Republic of Congo next Wednesday, in the first round of the World Cup group stage.