Elfath, who has already officiated three games at the World Cup, was at the centre of two contentious penalty decisions during the Brazil and Norway last-16 tie.
By Kehinde Okeowo
FIFA has appointed Moroccan-born American referee Ismail Elfath to take charge of the 2026 World Cup semi-final tie between England and Argentina.
The 44-year-old official, who has already refereed three games at the tournament, most recently took charge of Norway’s World Cup last-16 win over Brazil.
In that game, he was at the centre of two contentious penalty decisions. He initially failed to make the call for Kristoffer Ajer’s trip on Matheus Cunha, although VAR eventually intervened and the spot-kick was ultimately awarded.
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Later, in added time, Elfath also awarded a penalty for Leo Østigård’s apparent elbow on Casemiro, from which Neymar scored a late consolation goal.
His other two games were the Netherlands’ 2-2 draw against Japan in the first round of group matches, and Spain’s 1-0 win over Uruguay.
In the latter match, Elfath sent off Uruguay’s Agustín Canobbio for serious foul play during a highly-tempered encounter.
