Tomorrow, August 12, PSG and Aston Villa will meet in Salzburg in the UEFA Super Cup. The main referee will be 34-year-old Somali Omar Artan. This is a historic event: he will become the first African referee to officiate a major UEFA match 🌍✨.
Artan’s journey here has been dramatic. He was included in the list of referees for the 2026 World Cup, he came to the USA, but was refused entry 🚫✈️. He was greeted as a hero in his homeland, and a few days later UEFA, having agreed with the Confederation of African Football (CAF), invited him to referee the pre-season finale 🤝.
Artan is the current best African referee in 2025 according to CAF, has been on the FIFA list since 2018, and last season he refereed the CAF Champions League final 🏆👨⚖️. A beautiful compensation for injustice and a strong signal of UEFA-CAF cooperation.
