United States president Donald Trump said his country was working to ensure “the right people” could come in after a number of visa issues affected the week leading up to the start of the World Cup.
Somali referee Omar Artan was denied entry to the US when he arrived in Miami for training ahead of the finals, while the Iranian federation said a number of its officials had also been refused visas.
Trump was asked about it at a White House briefing on Wednesday and said: “We’re working on it very closely to make sure the right people come into our country.”
Reports have cited a US official claiming Artan had suspected links to terror organisations, an allegation Artan has not yet responded to.
FIFA has faced criticism for staging the World Cup in a country with such hard-line immigration policies, but its president Gianni Infantino said on Wednesday his organisation was not “king of the world” and had to abide by decisions taken by governments in host countries.
Trump said this was “the most successful World Cup (FIFA) has ever had”, adding: “They have never sold tickets at that level.
“It’s amazing. You don’t think of soccer in this country. I spoke to Gianni this morning and he said there’s never been anything close to what’s happened.”
