The White House defends "preventing the arson."

The executive director of the "White House Task Force on the World Cup" defended the decision to prevent Somali referee Omar Artan from entering the United States.

Andrew Giuliani told USA Today: "There are some things we cannot discuss regarding the referee you are referring to (...) He had contact with very bad people before arriving in the United States."

He added: "I'll leave it at that, but what I can say is that we will not allow football tournament officials to bring bad people into the United States. It is our duty to ensure that everyone has an unforgettable experience, and that means making sure we can monitor the people entering the United States."

Artan was denied entry to the United States despite having a valid visa, which was attributed to "security concerns" related to an alleged connection with "a terrorist organization in Somalia."