34-year-old Omar Artan will become the first African to compete in the final match of the European Cup tournament.
UEFA has recognized the 34-year Somali referee Omar Artan as the head referee of the match for the UEFA Super Cup 2026 between Champions League winner Paris Saint-Germain and European League winner Aston Villa.
The fight will take place on the 12th September near Salzburg (Austria). This is unprecedented, and even Artan will become the first African referee in history, which is the final of the European Cup tournament.
Before this year, Artan, who was recognized as the shortest arbiter of Africa in 2025, was issued at the entrance to the United States. The referee arrived in Miami (Florida) to liaise with officials and prepare for the World Championship. Prote The US Cordon and Mitigation Service deployed it, citing problems with the visa.
According to ESPN, basing referees in other countries that are state countries of the tournament - Mexico and Canada - was considered impractical due to the need for regular presence at training sessions and briefings in Miami..
FIFA President Gianni Infantino, commenting on criticism of the lack of production of his organization, is now in charge of providing food for the referee, pleasing the crowd to simply calm down and relax.
While discussions continue regarding Artan's exclusion from the preparatory process in the United States, the European football body wants to show solidarity.
The decision to entrust the Somalian with the Super Cup was praised as part of the recently signed Memorandum of Understanding between UEFA and the Confederation of African Football (CAF). The main meta of the document is the desire for spivpracia, the development of equality and the fight against discrimination.
Omar Artan entered the FIFA international list in 2018 and has an unknown reputation. Among his greatest achievements is work in the match-type final of the CAF Champions League 2025-26 in the city Judging the fate of CAF 2025.
UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin highly assessed the referee’s qualifications:.
" Football is created in order to unite people, and UEFA wants to show its respect to Omar and his famous referee players.
I am grateful to my friend, CAF President Patrice Motsepa, for supporting our initiative,” said the UEFA official.
In his own words, CAF President Dr. Patrice Motsepe expressed the importance of this for the entire continent:.
" His status as Africa's greatest arbiter and recognition for the 2026 Emergency and recognition of the responsibilities of the world class. “This is a great honor for this wonderful example of how football unites people from Africa, Europe and the whole world,” said the functionary.