Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Amb. Olivier Nduhungirehe, has praised the performance of the Somali referee who officiated the UEFA Super Cup match between two of Visit Rwanda’s football partners.
The match brought together Paris Saint-Germain of France, which has promoted Visit Rwanda for five years, and Aston Villa of England, which entered into a partnership with Rwanda more recently.
Played in Salzburg, Austria, the match ended with PSG lifting the UEFA Super Cup after beating Aston Villa 2-1.
The match was officiated by international referee Omar Artan of Somalia, who was in Rwanda not long ago to referee the CECAFA Kagame Cup final, won by Rayon Sports.
Minister Nduhungirehe praised how Artan handled the UEFA Super Cup match.
“Omar Artan has shown to the whole world how good a referee he was. An excellent game by this son of Somalia and Africa,” Minister Nduhungirehe said.
Omar Artan, one of the highly rated referees on the international stage, drew wide attention after he was denied entry into the United States while travelling to officiate at the World Cup, forcing him to return home to Somalia.
At the time, football fans around the world criticized the United States for barring this African referee from carrying out the assignment given to him by FIFA, and voiced their support for him.
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