Ismail Elfath, a 44-year-old American referee born in Morocco, will officiate the FIFA World Cup semi-final between England and Argentina at Atlanta Stadium on July 15, 2026 [1, 2, 3]. Elfath has been a prominent official at the tournament, overseeing group stage matches Japan vs Netherlands, Spain vs Uruguay, and the round-of-16 game Norway vs Brazil [1, 2, 3]. During these matches, he issued six yellow cards and one straight red card [1].
Elfath is accompanied by American assistant referees Corey Parker and Kyle Atkins, with Italian Maurizio Mariani serving as the fourth official [1, 3]. English referees Michael Oliver and Anthony Taylor, along with Argentine referee Facundo Tello, are not allowed to officiate matches involving their home countries due to FIFA conflict of interest rules [1].
Born in Morocco, Elfath emigrated to the United States as a teenager through the US Diversity Visa program and now lives in Austin, Texas [1, 2]. He has twice been named Major League Soccer Referee of the Year and was an assistant referee at the 2022 World Cup final when Argentina defeated France on penalties [1, 4, 2, 3].
Fans and some outlets have noted Elfath's notable record with Lionel Messi's teams, which have never lost or drawn in five matches he officiated [4, 5, 6, 7, 3]. Elfath also refereed the 2023 Leagues Cup final where Messi's Inter Miami won their first trophy against Nashville SC on penalties [1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 3].
"I was a hot-headed player. I always complained to the guy that ran the league, and then one day he was like, ‘Man, you always complain, you should just become a referee,’" Elfath said about his path to officiating [2].
The winner of the England vs Argentina semi-final will advance to the final against Spain on July 19, 2026, in New Jersey [4, 5, 6, 7, 3].
