‘You start a war before the World Cup’: KIRO hosts weigh security, access concerns after FIFA referee denied U.S. entry

After a Somali FIFA referee who was named Africa’s best men’s referee last year was denied entry to the U.S. over unspecified “vetting concerns,” according to The Associated Press, KIRO host Spike O’Neill and fill-in host Mike Lewis questioned whether such denials are routine at international events like the World Cup — or a byproduct of heightened U.S. immigration enforcement.

Lewis said he wished there were a point of comparison, whether to previous World Cups hosted by other countries or to the last major international event held in the U.S., like the Olympics, to gauge how many people are typically denied entry and whether the current denials are unusual or routine.

“I wish that there was a point of context, like, if it’s seven people, a couple of people on this team, a referee over here, is that actually kind of normal for the World Cup?” he said on “The Jake and Spike Show” on KIRO Newsradio. “Because we’re so hyper-focused now on all of this stuff regarding immigration in the United States, and we’re watching this, and there’s a lot of attention being paid, but do these things happen every single World Cup? And is this kind of a norm? That’s the context that I wish this actually had.”

Referee not only FIFA official denied entry to U.S.

The Iraqi team’s official photographer, Talal Salah, and player Aymen Hussein were also detained by U.S. immigration authorities, according to The Washington Post. Salah was denied entry due to “vetting concerns,” while Hussein was detained for seven hours before being released. U.S. Customs and Border Protection told The Washington Post the two were subject to “additional inspection” to determine if they were allowed into the country.

Spike and Mike noted that the enforcement footprint for Seattle’s World Cup matches extended well beyond the airport, from downtown no-drive zones to parking garages closed due to safety concerns, with Spike calling the level of coordination “eye-opening.”

“I mean, you start a war before the World Cup,” Lewis responded.

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to “The Jake and Spike Show” weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio 97.3