Omar Artan Breaks New Ground as First African Referee at a UEFA Super Cup Final
Omar Artan will walk out at Red Bull Arena on Wednesday and become the first non-European referee to take charge of a UEFA Super Cup final. The 34-year-old Somali official leads the middle for Paris Saint-Germain against Aston Villa, kicking off at 8:00 PM WAT (3:00 PM ET / 19:00 GMT).
The appointment comes courtesy of a memorandum of understanding between UEFA and the Confederation of African Football, UEFA confirmed in an announcement on its official website. It lands three months after Artan was denied entry into the United States, where he had been named to the FIFA World Cup 2026 officiating panel, over an alleged link to a group associated with a terrorist organisation, a claim that drew criticism across African football circles at the time, as reported by Al Jazeera.
The turn
Artan spoke to UEFA's official website ahead of the match, framing the setback as fuel rather than defeat. "I believe that if I can succeed, anyone can. You can do whatever you want to do. Don't ever stop dreaming," he said. He added that the Super Cup appointment would be his first match in Europe, and that the news had been "a very, very happy moment" for him and his family.
He arrives in Salzburg carrying real credentials, not sentiment alone. Artan was named CAF Men's Referee of the Year for 2025 and took charge of the second leg of the 2025/26 CAF Champions League final, the highest honour African refereeing offers before a step like this one.
Who's alongside him
UEFA confirmed the full officiating team for Wednesday: assistants Liban Abdoulrazack Ahmed (Djibouti) and Stephen Eleazar Onyango Yiembe (Kenya), fourth official Rade Obrenovič (Slovenia), VAR Marco Di Bello (Italy), and assistant VAR Guillermo Cuadra Fernandez (Spain), a heavily African-led crew for one of the European calendar's marquee fixtures.
PSG, chasing a second consecutive Super Cup after beating Tottenham on penalties last year, face an Aston Villa side appearing in the fixture for the first time in 44 years following their Europa League win over Freiburg. For Artan, the result on the pitch is secondary to what his presence in the middle already represents.
