Muslims barred, Islamists welcomed at World Cup 2026: group

BERLIN,— A Germany-based human rights group has accused the Trump administration of hypocrisy and racist behavior over travel bans targeting athletes from Muslim countries.

The Society for Threatened Peoples (GfbV) said the bans discriminate against individual Muslims while the U.S. government maintains close ties with countries it says fund radical Islamist groups.

“While the U.S. supports close allies like Qatar and Turkey, which are responsible for arming and financing radical Islamists, individual Muslims are being discriminated against and disadvantaged,” said Dr. Kamal Sido, the group’s Middle East expert.

Among those affected is Omar Artan, a Somali referee nominated for the World Cup, along with athletes from Iran and other predominantly Muslim nations, according to GfbV.

Sido pointed to the U.S. treatment of Syria’s new leader, previously listed on American terror watchlists as a senior jihadist, as further evidence of double standards.

U.S. authorities removed him from the terror list and allowed him to enter the country multiple times, Sido said, citing reported financial flows from Qatar and other Gulf states as a factor in that decision.

US President Donald Trump receives former al-Qaeda leader and current Syrian interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, also known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, at the White House on November 10, 2025. Photo: The White House/Syrian Presidency

The German federal government also received the Syrian leader Ahmad al Sharaa in Berlin. The official had operated until recently under the name Abu Mohamed al-Golani.

Sido also noted that Turkey, under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, backs Islamist militias in Somalia, the home country of the rejected referee Artan. He said Erdogan, like Syria’s new ruler, is courted by the U.S. and NATO partners rather than challenged.

“This is not just about individual cases. Muslims as a whole are being disadvantaged and discriminated against, while political Islam and violent Islamists are viewed as partners by the very same politicians and governments,” Sido told GfbV.

“If it were truly about security interests, the fight would be against radical political Islam and not against individual Muslims, who are themselves victims of the regimes and militias,” he added.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan with Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad al Thani — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) is welcomed by Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad al Thani in Doha, Qatar, 2015. Photo: Twitter

Qatar, which hosts the political leadership of Hamas, faces repeated accusations of bankrolling Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood, Islamist extremist networks, and the Islamic State group across multiple regions.

Critics say Doha has served as a financial lifeline for some of the most dangerous armed Islamist factions operating worldwide.

Turkey and its ruling Justice and Development Party, known as AKP, face similarly serious charges. Ankara stands widely accused of sheltering Muslim Brotherhood figures, providing logistical backing, and operating as a base for multiple radical Islamist organizations.

Analysts and governments alike say Turkey under the AKP has enabled extremist networks to recruit, regroup, and operate with little interference, making it a hub for Islamist activity that threatens regional and global stability.

With files from The Society for Threatened Peoples (GfbV)