SALZBURG, Austria – Somali referee Omar Artan is set to become the first non-European official to referee the UEFA Super Cup, adding another milestone to a career that has seen him break new ground in international football.
The 34-year-old will take charge of the 2026 UEFA Super Cup in Salzburg after a remarkable 18 months that included becoming the first Somali referee to oversee a CAF Champions League final and winning the CAF Men’s Referee of the Year Award 2025. Okay News reports that his appointment follows increased cooperation between UEFA and CAF in refereeing.
Artan was also selected for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, but was unable to enter the United States to officiate at the tournament. He described missing the World Cup as a difficult experience but said he was grateful for the support he received from people around the world.
His rise has been shaped by personal challenges. Artan lost his father at a young age and grew up apart from his mother, but began refereeing after a minor playing injury redirected his ambitions towards officiating.
He progressed from refereeing informal neighbourhood matches to school games and eventually fixtures in the Somali league. FIFA added him to its international list of referees in 2018, and in 2024 he became the first Somali official to referee at the Africa Cup of Nations.
CAF President Patrice Motsepe described the appointment as an honour for Artan and African referees, saying it demonstrated football’s ability to bring people together.
Artan said he was particularly pleased to officiate in Europe for the first time and praised the cooperation between UEFA and CAF. He said referees from both confederations could learn from each other’s approaches and standards.
His UEFA Super Cup team will include assistants Liban Abdoulrazack Ahmed of Djibouti and Stephen Eleazar Onyango Yiembe of Kenya. Slovenia’s Rade Obrenovič will serve as fourth official, while Italy’s Marco Di Bello will operate as VAR and Spain’s Guillermo Cuadra Fernandez as assistant VAR.
Artan has continued preparing by officiating league matches in Somalia and taking charge of the Kuwaiti Premier League title decider in June, another first in his career.
Looking ahead, Artan encouraged young people aspiring to become referees not to give up despite obstacles. “Don’t ever stop dreaming,” he said, urging aspiring officials to keep learning, improve their skills and remain fair and consistent.
