Loaded Magazine

A Somali referee set to become the first official from his country to work at a World Cup was denied entry to the United States after being questioned for 11 hours on arrival in Miami.

Omar Artan, named Africa's best male referee in 2025, said border officials repeatedly asked him about al-Shabab before sending him back to Istanbul despite having a valid visa. FIFA later removed him from the list of match officials.

"I'm simply a referee trying to live the biggest dream of my life," Artan said. He returned to Somalia to a hero's welcome and says he remains focused on the future.

⏪ Throwback to June 2000 🔥

Britney Spears on the cover. Nokia phones in every pocket. WWF on the telly. CD players in the car.

The world felt a lot simpler 26 years ago.

Love it or hate it, this was peak turn-of-the-millennium pop culture and Britney was right at the centre of it.

👇 Were the late 90s and early 2000s the best years to grow up?

💥 Every Issue. Every Cover. Every Iconic Moment. 💥

Before social media, there was Loaded.

From Pamela Anderson to David Beckham, Oasis to Gazza, these were the covers that defined a generation.

Now you can own the complete digital archive featuring every issue from 1994 to 2010.

📲 Instant download. No waiting.

Because some magazines deserve more than nostalgia.

They deserve preserving.

Grab the archives and relive the golden era!

Who remembers buying Loaded at the newsagent? 👇

Michelle Pfeiffer in the 80s.

Scarface. The Witches of Eastwick. Tequila Sunrise.

While Hollywood was full of stars, few had the combination of beauty, elegance and screen presence that made Michelle Pfeiffer impossible to ignore.

Some actresses belonged to films.

Michelle Pfeiffer belonged to an era.

Was she the ultimate 80s icon?

This was Bruce Lee's actual workout log from 1965. 😮💪

Squats. Curls. Push-ups. Sit-ups. Calf raises.

Nothing fancy. No secret hacks. No £300 coaching programme.

Just relentless consistency from one of the most disciplined men who ever lived.

The question is: if Bruce Lee built one of the most iconic physiques in history with this, have we overcomplicated fitness?

👊 Fathers. The original influencers.

Before podcasts, productivity hacks and self-help gurus, most of us learned our biggest lessons from the bloke who raised us.

If you're still stuck for ideas this Father's Day, we've done the hard work for you.

From timeless gifts he'll actually use to a few surprises he won't see coming, our Father's Day guide has you covered.

🎁 Read it here:
https://loadedworld.com/blogs/home-page-top-features/father-s-day-sorted

What's the best piece of advice your dad ever gave you?

When Gary Kremen launched Match.com in 1995, he encouraged everyone at the company, including his girlfriend, to create a profile. The site took off, but so did her love life. 💔

She eventually left Kremen for a man she met on Match.com.

Painful for him. Brilliant proof the product worked.

56 seconds 🟥

That’s all it took for José Batista to earn the fastest red card in World Cup history.

Uruguay vs Scotland, 1986. The game had barely started before Batista went through Gordon Strachan and got sent for an early shower.

No VAR drama. No ten-minute debate. Just one brutal tackle, one red card, and a place in football history.

Modern football has soft yellows.

This was a red card before most fans had taken their first sip.

Could this record ever be beaten?

A job seeker named Keane is going viral after replying to a rejection email with a brilliantly polite reversal of the hiring process.

Rather than simply accepting the company’s decision, he thanked them for their interest and jokingly informed them that he would not be moving forward with their rejection.

The response hit home for people dealing with today’s job market, where applicants can spend hours applying, interviewing and waiting, only to receive a generic “unfortunately” email.

For many, it felt less like a comeback and more like the rare joy of seeing the tables turned.

26 World Cup matches.

No man has played more.

Lionel Messi reached the record during Argentina’s 2022 title run, finally lifting the trophy that had followed him around his entire career.

Now the question gets ridiculous.

Could Messi actually do it again?

Surely not… right?