England vs Argentina is more than just a 2026 World Cup semifinal. This is a historic, bad-blood matchup. It explains why England and Argentina are fielding strong lineups, but also why FIFA appointed a tough, strict referee for this game.
FIFA named Moroccan-born American Ismail Elfath as the main referee of the game. Elfath will have American assistants as well. Hence, they’ll have easy language communication with England, not so much with Spanish-speaking Argentina.
- Referee: Ismail Elfath (United States)
- Assistant Referee 1: Corey Parker (United States)
- Assistant Referee 2: Kyle Atkins (United States)
- Fourth Referee: Maurizio Mariani (Italy)
- Fifth Referee: Daniele Bindoni (Italy)
- VAR: Marco Di Bello (Italy)
Ismail Elfath in the 2026 World Cup
Elfath has officiated three World Cup matches so far. However, the controversy comes from the fact that he has referee’d Messi a handful of times in the MLS, and Messi has never lost with him officiating a game. For conspiracy theorists, this is FIFA favoring Argentina, with British media showing concern over Messi’s positive record with Elfath. The reality is Elfath is a very good referee, and not the first one to have officiated a Messi game before either.
🚨🚨| Appointed Referee for Wednesday’s World Cup Semi-Final clash between Argentina and England.
— CentreGoals. (@centregoals) July 14, 2026
Official Ismail Elfath has taken charge of Lionel Messi four times since his move to Inter Miami —
Messi is 𝐔𝐍𝐁𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐍 in all four, scoring 4 goals. 😅🇦🇷
→ 🏆 4 games
→… pic.twitter.com/ML9ZKfhbE4
- Netherlands vs. Japan (Group Stage): Three yellow cards
- Uruguay vs. Spain (Group Stage): Straight red card to Uruguay’s Agustín Canobbio.
- Brazil vs. Norway (Round of 16): Four yellow cards
Elfath confirms trend by FIFA
Elfath makes history as the first American referee to ever take charge of a World Cup match this late in the knockout stage. But not only that, given Ivan Barton‘s appointment for the Spain vs France semifinal, FIFA trusted Concacaf to officiate both semifinals of the 2026 World Cup.
This doesn’t mean any of them will have an appearance in the World Cup final, but it speaks a lot about what FIFA thinks about Concacaf referees. Still, it’s not all fun and games, as Didier Deschamps questioned Ivan Barton after his performance as the main referee in Spain vs France.
