FIFA just handed the whistle for Wednesday’s World Cup semifinal between England and Argentina to Ismail Elfath. And if that name sounds familiar to Lionel Messi fans, it should. The Moroccan-born American referee has worked several Inter Miami matches since Messi joined MLS, including the 2023 Leagues Cup final against Nashville. Some outlets have already started calling him Messi’s favorite ref, which is the kind of label that guarantees every borderline call gets replayed a thousand times on social media.
The problem isn’t really Elfath himself. He’s reffed three other matches at this World Cup without major incident, and none of them involved either semifinal team. But Argentina’s path to Atlanta has come with a trail of complaints. Egypt felt they got shafted in the Round of 16. Switzerland wasn’t happy in the quarterfinals. Both teams pointed fingers at VAR and the officiating, and Reuters has reported that the noise around Argentina’s favorable treatment isn’t just coming from fans in comment sections. It’s coming from opposing federations.
Context matters here
Former FIFA referee Christina Unkel reviewed the disputed incidents and said they didn’t clearly show bad officiating. Pierluigi Collina, who runs FIFA’s refereeing department, has pushed back hard on the bias allegations, saying questioning officials’ integrity without proof is unacceptable. He’s not wrong about that part. But saying “trust the process” gets harder when the process keeps producing the same result for the defending champs.
Elfath will be assisted by Corey Parker and Kyle Atkins, both Americans. Italy’s Maurizio Mariani will be the fourth official. And none of this would be a story if Argentina’s knockout run had been clean. But it hasn’t. So now you’ve got a referee who has a working relationship with Messi, a team that’s already under suspicion, and a semifinal where England is trying to reach its first final since 1966. That’s a pressure cooker.
What matters on Wednesday
Referees work the same players all the time. That’s not unusual. The same guys who call Premier League games see the same stars every weekend. Elfath is an MLS referee, Messi plays in MLS, they cross paths. That alone doesn’t mean anything. But optics matter in a tournament where one controversial call could overshadow everything else.
If Elfath has a clean game, this whole debate disappears. If he makes a close call that bounces Argentina’s way, the backlash won’t wait for the final whistle. FIFA picked a guy with a clear link to one of the two teams in a high-stakes knockout game, and they did it at a moment when Argentina’s luck with officials is already being questioned. Whether that’s fair to Elfath or not, that’s the reality he’ll walk into on Wednesday night in Atlanta.
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