Messi's ‘favourite referee' named for England vs Argentina semi-final, fans cry foul
Elfath was the fourth official when Argentina beat France on penalties in the 2022 World Cup final
Published July 15, 2026
FIFA has appointed the 44-year-old Moroccan-American Ismail Elfath to serve as a referee for the semi-final of the 2026 FIFA World Cup between England and Argentina, scheduled for Wednesday, July 16.
He'll 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 pick on paper; however, fans have different theories about his appointment, with many describing him as “Messi’s favourite referee.”
Elfath has officiated Messi’s matches in Major League Soccer (MLS) where the star striker plays for Inter Miami, the twist is that the master dribbler hasn’t lost a single match when the Moroccan was officiating.
Elfath was the fourth official when Argentina beat France on penalties in the 2022 World Cup final, a game where Messi scored twice. He was also the head referee when Inter Miami won the 2023 Leagues Cup, with Messi scoring before another penalty shootout win. He's overseen three more MLS wins for Messi's Inter Miami since then.
That perfect record has earned Elfath a new nickname across sports media: Messi's "lucky charm."
Since England is competing against Argentina, the British newspapers didn’t hold back in expressing their criticism with Daily Mail writing, “Messi will have his favorite referee in the semifinal, despite theories claiming the tournament is rigged.”
The Sun and Daily Mirror also expressed their concerns and English fans didn’t hold back either as one took to X and wrote, “England getting robbed before the game even started is nasty work.”
FIFA's chief refereeing officer, Pierluigi Collina, has firmly rejected any suggestion of bias. He said World Cup officials work independently and that questioning their integrity without real evidence isn't fair.
