The Trump administration has elevated dozens of complicated World Cup visa applications to senior officials for review as the U.S. seeks to fulfill its obligations as a tournament host while maintaining strict national security standards, White House World Cup Task Force Executive Director Andrew Giuliani said Sunday, Politico reported.

Giuliani said "dozens" of difficult or high-profile cases have required review by top administration officials before final decisions were made.

The comments offer a rare look into the administration's behind-the-scenes process for handling visa requests for the World Cup.

The effort has involved coordination among the White House World Cup Task Force, the State Department, and the Department of Homeland Security as officials process thousands of applications from players, coaches, referees, officials, and support personnel.

Giuliani acknowledged that some applicants who might otherwise face obstacles entering the United States have received additional consideration because of commitments the federal government made as part of its agreement with FIFA.

"That's part of the contract the U.S. government signed with FIFA," Giuliani said.

At the same time, he emphasized that national security remains the administration's overriding priority and said World Cup-related obligations would not supersede security concerns.

"The first thing that is so key to this tournament being successful is the national security of the country," Giuliani said. "We're not going to let the World Cup be the excuse."

Giuliani specifically defended the administration's decision to deny entry to Somali referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan, a case that has drawn attention because Artan is an official recognized by FIFA.

According to Giuliani, the decision was made by Customs and Border Protection and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin after security concerns emerged during the review process.

While declining to discuss specific intelligence information, Giuliani said authorities determined that Artan had been communicating with what he described as ‘bad actors’ shortly before his planned travel to the United States.

"We talked about it, obviously, right? I mean, it's one of their referees," Giuliani said of discussions with FIFA regarding the case.

"There are some things we can't talk about," he added. "We want all those players and coaches to come to the United States of America, and officials and referees, as long as they're not communicating and coordinating with bad actors."

The administration's visa-screening process has attracted heightened scrutiny as President Donald Trump continues to pursue a hard-line immigration and border security agenda while hosting one of the world's largest international sporting events.

Giuliani said the vast majority of World Cup participants have obtained visas without difficulty and stressed that only a small number of cases have required intervention by senior officials.

Still, he said the administration would continue to apply security standards uniformly, regardless of an applicant's role in the tournament.