As the World Cup was set to begin on Thursday, Wednesday’s CNN This Morning decided to parrot the view of the joint North American-hosted event, with most games played in the U.S., as a “World Cup of chaos,” as labeled by former English soccer star Ian Wright, due to immigration customs and visa enforcement.   The segment’s start focused on a Somalian referee who was barred from entry to the US, which CNN said was caused by “uncovered derogatory information.” Yesterday, both FOX News and the Daily Wire reported the ban from entry was due to possible ties to terrorism. Host Audie Cornish's opening asked, “...are the off-the-field headlines threatening to overshadow the biggest tournament in the world? “ In further expansion on the Somali referee, Cornish noted the ref, Omar Artan, “received a hero’s welcome when he returned to Somalia” and added he told the New York Times that he was “just simply a referee trying to live his dream.”   Ahead of the World Cup's start on Thursday, CNN This Morning framed the event as the "World Cup of Chaos" in a segment that led with the ban of a Somali referee from entry to the US. CNN did not mention reports that stated the ban was due to possible ties to terrorism. pic.twitter.com/kOBOZlDBKZ — Nick (@nspin310) June 10, 2026   The CNN host then displayed some media headlines about treatment of World Cup guests: Fans from Scotland said their permits were withdrawn at the final moment. Teams from Senegal, Uzbekistan were treated like criminals, according to critics, and a player from Iraq was questioned for seven hours upon arrival in Chicago. The head coach for Team Uzbekistan has since taken to Instagram to say “these were routine, standard checks” and called the tournament's organization “flawless.” Team Senegal has also denied that anything was wrong. After a video played of Wright talking about stories of groups of World Cup guests with visa issues, he mentioned high ticket prices and said, “Know what, this is the World Cup of chaos.” Major League Soccer communications chief Dan Courtemanche was the special soccer-focused guest, and framed the bad headlines as bad for soccer in the U.S. and the MLS. Cornish asked, “Um, does this - these headlines, do they kind of undermine that message that MLS has been so good, frankly, at cultivating over the last decade?” Courtemanche pushed back slightly and rightly said that once the tournament begins, the headlines will shift from chaos to “celebration, to pageantry, to party.” Still, Cornish worried about players and fear-mongered for them: But I'm saying for the players, is this irritating, scary, frustrating? The whole point is international cooperation. It's not feeling welcoming.   Major League Soccer Communications Chief Dan @CourtemancheMLS was the soccer-focused guest as Cornish fearmongered that the overall situation might be "scary" and is "not feeling welcoming" to players He said, "ultimately, that's a question for the players." pic.twitter.com/xHbhZpKVyD — Nick (@nspin310) June 10, 2026   Continuing to play PR for soccer, Courtemanche played to the liberal audience and Cornish’s questions: So I hear you. You know, ultimately that's a question for the players. It's not something that we've seen. (...) But I understand where you're coming from. We want to be welcoming to all the players. We want to see them. Have a wonderful time here in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The constant fearmongering over the World Cup has been a feature of US media, like the New York Times where one headline reads, “On the Eve of the World Cup, U.S. Immigration Policy Turns Some Away,” along with some on social media, except for one German fan named Freddy who has toured the southern U.S. and shared his experiences along the way on X.  The transcript is below. Click "expand": CNN This Morning June 10, 2026 6:37:11 AM Eastern AUDIE CORNISH: So, the World Cup kicks off tomorrow, I know, I said it. It kicks off across North America, but are the off-the-field headlines threatening to overshadow the biggest tournament in the world?  So, there was a Somali referee turned away by U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Miami when he arrived for his World Cup assignment, and he received a hero's welcome when he returned to Somalia. The Trump administration tells CNN that vetting uncovered derogatory information, they did not go into further detail. Now, the ref told the New York Times, quote, “I'm just simply a referee trying to live his dream.”  Fans from Scotland said their permits were withdrawn at the final moment. Teams from Senegal, Uzbekistan were treated like criminals, according to critics, and a player from Iraq was questioned for seven hours upon arrival in Chicago. [Cuts to Video] IAN WRIGHT (FORMER ENGLAND FOOTBALL STAR): Every few hours, it's another story. Another story about fans denied, players denied, officials denied, journalists denied. Now refs? You know something? I'm laughing, but it's not funny. It's actually not funny. Something has to be said. It's expensive - tickets, most expensive tickets ever. [jumpcut] Know what, this is the World Cup of chaos. [Cut back to live] CORNISH: Joining us in the group chat, Dan Courtemanche. He's the executive vice president and chief communications officer for Major League Soccer. Did I say your name right? I don't want your mom being mad at me. Dan Courtemanche (MLS COMMUNICATIONS): You did! Thank you. It’s terrific to be here. Really appreciate it. CORNISH: So, I wanted to talk to you about this for a couple of reasons. One, your team sent over some information here, and it was noting that there is a record number of MLS players, 45, who represent countries in this. Right?  COURTEMANCHE: That is correct.  CORNISH: And that you've also got - done a lot of work through your academies to be a place to recruit people who will want to play here. Um, does this - these headlines, do they kind of undermine that message that MLS has been so good, frankly, at cultivating over the last decade? COURTEMANCHE: Yeah, I think what we're going to see is some of those headlines tomorrow when the World Cup opens in Mexico City, then certainly in North America and Canada and the United States on Friday, it's going to shift from some of those headlines, the World Cup of chaos, to celebration, to pageantry, to a party. CORNISH: But I'm saying for the players, is this irritating, scary, frustrating? The whole point is international cooperation. It's not feeling welcoming. COURTEMANCHE: So I hear you. You know, ultimately that's a question for the players. It's not something that we've seen. And in Major League Soccer, we have players from 78 different countries. And we've been around for 31 seasons, and we haven't experienced that, challenges with Visa issues or anything. But I understand where you're coming from. We want to be welcoming to all the players. We want to see them. Have a wonderful time here in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. (...)