FIFA has appointed 44-year-old Moroccan-American Ismail Elfath to serve as the referee for the 2026 FIFA World Cup semi-final between England and Argentina, scheduled for Wednesday 16 July.
He will be assisted by fellow Americans Corey Parker and Kyle Atkins during the match in Atlanta. Italy’s Maurizio Mariani will serve as the fourth official.
His appointment looks like a normal choice on paper; however, fans have different theories about his appointment, with many describing him as “Messi’s favorite referee.”
Elfath has refereed Messi’s matches in Major League Soccer (MLS), where the star striker plays for Inter Miami, the twist is that the master dribbler has not lost a single game since the Moroccan refereed.
Elfath was the fourth official when Argentina beat France on penalties in the 2022 World Cup final, a game in which Messi scored twice. He was also the main referee when Inter Miami won the 2023 Leagues Cup, with Messi scoring before another penalty shootout win. He has overseen three more MLS wins for Messi’s Inter Miami since then.
The perfect record has earned Elfath a new nickname across sports media: Messi’s “lucky charm”.
With England competing against Argentina, the British newspapers did not hold back in expressing their criticism Daily Mail writes: “Messi wants his favorite referee in the semi-finals, despite theories claiming the tournament is rigged.”
The sun and Daily Mirror also voiced their concerns, and England fans didn’t hold back either, taking to X and writing: “England being robbed before the game even started is nasty work.”
FIFA’s chief referee, Pierluigi Collina, has strongly rejected any suggestion of bias. He said World Cup officials work independently and it is not fair to question their integrity without real evidence.
