World Cup 2026: American Ismail Elfath to referee England vs Argentina

FIFA has announced that American referee Ismail Elfath will take charge of England’s World Cup semi-final against Argentina.

The tournament features 44 official group games between Japan and the Netherlands and Uruguay versus Spain, as well as Norway’s last-16 victory over five-time winners Brazil.

He issued six yellow cards and showed Uruguay midfielder Agustin Canobio a straight red card for a high challenge on Spain defender Pau Cuberci.

After he was ejected, Canobio confronted the referee and grabbed his shirt.

Play at Atlanta on Wednesday (20:00 BST) It will be shown live on BBC One.

Fellow Americans Corey Parker and Kyle Atkins will serve as assistant referees, and Italian Maurizio Mariani is the fourth official.

Elfath also officiated at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and was the fourth official for the final between France and Argentina.

In a group game four years ago, Elfath shook Vincent Aboubakar’s hand and sent off the Cameroon striker for taking off his shirt while celebrating the winner against Brazil.

Elfath has officiated in Major League Soccer since 2012 and twice won MLS Referee of the Year.

He was the referee when Lionel Messi won his first trophy for Inter Miami – a penalty shootout victory over Nashville SC in the 2023 League Cup final.

Originally from Morocco, Elfath immigrated to America at age 18 after winning the U.S. government-backed diversity visa lottery.

Meanwhile, England’s Michael Oliver and Anthony Taylor have dropped out of contention to referee the World Cup final due to conflict of interest FIFA rules.

Referees cannot officiate matches involving their own countries, but English and Argentine officials also cannot referee games involving the two countries due to their political rivalry, the 1982 Falklands conflict.

Argentine referee Facundo Tello is out of contention for the same reason, with all three officials ineligible for the third-place playoff as it is guaranteed to include one of the teams.

The regulations also exclude Taylor from refereeing the 2022 World Cup final between Argentina and France.