It was a homecoming fit for a hero, but the man at the centre of it is anything but. Mohamed Hashi, the Somali-born referee banned from officiating at this year’s World Cup, touched down in Mogadishu yesterday to a chorus of cheers and government handshakes. His crime? A background check by Fifa flagged alleged links to militant groups. The UK government has now publicly questioned the integrity of the process, calling for an independent review.
Hashi, a Swedish citizen of Somali descent, was removed from the list of referees for the Qatar tournament in March. Fifa cited security concerns. But the Somali Football Federation cried foul, labelling the decision discriminatory. Now, with the refugee-turned-referee back on Somali soil, the narrative has shifted. “They tried to silence him,” said a source close to the federation. “But he is a symbol of Somali resilience.”
Documents I have seen suggest the case is more complex. A leaked Fifa memo shows the ban was based on intelligence from an unnamed European agency. No evidence was shared with Hashi or his lawyers. The UK’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has now written to Fifa demanding transparency. “We cannot have a system where referees are blacklisted without due process,” a spokesperson said.
The timing is awkward for Fifa. Already reeling from corruption scandals and human rights criticism over Qatar, the organisation now faces fresh questions about its vetting procedures. Hashi’s supporters argue he is a victim of Islamophobia. “He is a man of faith, not a fighter,” said his lawyer. Fifa insists the decision was based solely on risk assessment.
But unanswered questions remain. Who provided the intelligence? What was the threshold for suspicion? And why was Hashi never given a chance to respond? The answers matter not just for one referee, but for the credibility of the entire sport. As one UK official put it: “If you can’t trust the referee, you can’t trust the game.”
