This story appeared in The Logoffa daily newsletter that helps you stay informed about the Trump administration without letting political news rule your life. Register here.
Welcome to The Logoff: The World Cup starts this week, and the Trump administration is already causing problems.
What is happening? on monday, BBC Sport reported that the Somali referee, Omar Artan, was not allowed to enter the United States before the World Cup, which starts on Thursday. Artan was set to be one of the 52 FIFA referees for the competition, which will continue until July 19, and was it is said that he turned at the Miami airport despite valid visas.
Artan is not alone in his issues entering the country. Aymen Hussein, who plays for the Iraqi national team, was detained for “almost seven hours” at Chicago’s O’Hare airport, according to Reuterswhile the photographer of the Iraqi team was refused direct entry. Iranian players only received US visas at the last minutewhile some team members have not received them at all.
Fans hoping to attend World Cup games in the United States – especially those from African countries – have also had problems to get a visa visit the United States.
How is the Trump administration involved in this? The second administration of Donald Trump has made a hostile to all immigrants – and especially to non-white – tent policy. During the last six months, Mother Jones reported over the weekendThe United States has accepted only white South Africans as refugees.
In 2025, the government also imposed a travel ban comprising 39 countriesincluding Somalia, where Artan is from, and four countries – Haiti, Iran, Senegal, and Ivory Coast – that will participate in the World Cup.
What else should I know? The World Cup isn’t the only sporting event that Trump is actively blocking. The President is in New York City today for Game 3 of the NBA Finals, featuring the New York Knicks (currently up 2-0 and rising) against the San Antonio Spurs; His attendance is serious party push in Manhattan.
And so, it’s time to leave…
Hello readers — I enjoy baking but I don’t always do a good job, so I enjoyed it this reminder from Genevieve Ko of NYT Cooking on the virtues of making a pie crust from scratch. If you want his recipe, you can find it here and a gift link (and with Logoff’s hearty endorsement of strawberry-rhubarb as the perfect pie filling).
As always, thanks for reading, have a great evening, and we’ll see you back here tomorrow!
