Argentina and England will face off in the second semi-final of the 2026 World Cup on Wednesday night at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium. FIFA has appointed American referee Ismail Elfath to oversee the high-voltage clash.
Having already refereed three matches at this World Cup, Elfath has recently drawn attention for a number of controversial decisions. He is, however, a somewhat familiar face for the Albiceleste — Ismail Elfath was present on the field as the fourth referee during the final of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
At this tournament, Elfath has taken charge of the 2-2 draw between the Netherlands and Japan in the group stage, Spain’s 1-0 win over Uruguay, and Norway’s 2-1 victory over Brazil in the last 16.
Across these three matches, Elfath has shown a total of eight yellow cards and one red card. The red card was shown to Uruguay’s Agustín Canobbio, who was sent off late in the match against Spain for a serious foul on Pau Cubarsí — a dismissal that effectively sealed Uruguay’s elimination from the tournament.
Following the Spain versus Uruguay match, Elfath’s match management drew widespread criticism in the Spanish media. The primary complaint was that he failed to take sufficient control of proceedings despite Uruguayan players repeatedly committing harsh fouls. The most significant source of frustration was his decision to show only a yellow card to Rodrigo Bentancur for a foul on Iñaki Williams — a challenge serious enough to rule Williams out of several subsequent matches.
In the Brazil versus Norway match, Elfath initially overlooked a clear penalty after Norway’s Christopher Ajer brought down Matheus Cunha in the box. A VAR review subsequently awarded the penalty to Brazil, but Bruno Guimarães’ missed spot kick meant the Seleção did not benefit. Elfath also awarded Brazil a second penalty during the same match, which Neymar converted. Despite this, Carlo Ancelotti’s side were ultimately eliminated. The atmosphere on the pitch was tense following the final whistle, with the Brazilian camp visibly frustrated and angry.
Who Is Referee Elfath?
Elfath, 44, was born in Casablanca, Morocco. At the age of 18, he relocated to the United States to study mechanical engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. Football had been his passion since childhood, however, and at a certain point he made the decisive choice to leave playing the game and instead pursue a refereeing career. He went on to establish himself as one of the most respected referees in the country. In 2001, he became a US citizen through the Diversity Immigrant Visa Programme, which has since been suspended.
Elfath has been a member of FIFA’s international refereeing panel since 2016 and has spent the majority of his career officiating in Major League Soccer (MLS). In that capacity, he has accumulated experience refereeing matches involving Argentine superstar Lionel Messi, including the 2023 Leagues Cup final, in which Inter Miami claimed the title on penalties following a 1-1 draw with Nashville.
Over the course of his distinguished career, Elfath has officiated at the highest level across a wide range of prestigious tournaments, including the FIFA World Cup, Copa América, Gold Cup, Olympic Games, FIFA U-20 World Cup, and the FIFA Club World Cup. He also refereed an Argentina match at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics — a group stage encounter that ended in a 1-1 draw and resulted in Argentina’s elimination, as they needed a win to progress. The Argentina squad that day included Facundo Medina and Alexis Mac Allister, both of whom are part of the current World Cup squad.
The upcoming semi-final will be Elfath’s second World Cup after the 2022 tournament in Qatar, where he refereed three matches — Portugal versus Ghana, Cameroon versus Brazil, and Japan versus Croatia in the last 16. He will be assisted by fellow Americans Corey Parker and Kyle Atkins as assistant referees, while Italy’s Maurizio Mariani will serve as the fourth official.
