England vs Argentina: Referee and Assistants Announced

The referee and assistants for Wednesday’s mouth-watering 2026 World Cup semi-final between England and Argentina have been announced.

England and Argentina go head-to-head for the first time since a thrilling friendly in November 2005. The Three Lions won that fixture 3-2, with Michael Owen scoring two late goals at the Stade de Geneve in Switzerland.

The last time they faced each other in a major tournament was in 2002, when England captain David Beckham completed his redemption arc by scoring the only goal of the game from the penalty spot, four years after being sent off at France ’98 for a petulant kick on Diego Simeone.

The most famous World Cup encounter between the two nations, though, occurred at the Azteca Stadium in 1986. Diego Maradona cemented his status as an Argentina legend by scoring his ‘Hand of God’ and ‘Goal of the Century’ goals in the space of four minutes.

If Wednesday’s semi-final is half as dramatic as 1986’s quarter-final then fans are in for a treat.

It’s been confirmed that American referee Ismail Elfath will take charge of the match at the Atlanta Stadium, with his compatriots Corey Parker and Kyle Atkins assigned as his two assistants.

The fourth official is Italy’s Maurizio Mariani, while Daniele Bindoni is listed as the reserve assistant referee.

Elfath, 44, was born in Morocco but moved to the United States in 2001 before later becoming a naturalised US citizen.

He’s worked as a referee in Major League Soccer since 2012 and a FIFA-listed referee since 2016.

He was the fourth official for the 2022 World Cup final, won by Argentina after a dramatic penalty shootout victory over France.

At this summer’s World Cup, Elfath took charge of the 2-2 draw between Netherlands and Japan in the group stages, the fiery encounter between Spain and Uruguay, and Norway’s 2-1 win over Brazil in the Round of 16.

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Fans React Badly to List of Officials

While the American’s credentials look reasonably impressive on paper, fans have not reacted well to his appointment.

One football fan said on X (Twitter): “So, you are telling me that the referee who let the Uruguayans endlessly kick and foul the Spaniards in their match, without showing a single card until the 80th minute is officiating a semi-final? Yeah, you are cooked England…”

Another commented: “Should have been a referee who knows the players from both teams. Not a referee who goes in with no clue.”

A third fan added: “What a stupid and reckless decision. A ref that’s used to low standard (USA professional football) is reffing a semi-final? Ridiculous. The best refs in the world are European as they ref in the best leagues. FIFA really is run by morons.”

While a fourth said: “So we’re at the mercy of Mr. President. England fans having a go at him earlier in the tournament. Italy and Argentina are basically brothers. God help us!”

A fifth added: “This is the referee who officiated the Spain-Uruguay match and tolerated so many fouls. Here in Spain, we joked that his criteria is ‘if you’re still alive, then it’s not a foul’. Let’s see if he applies those same criteria to England vs Argentina.”

Although fans may not be convinced about Elfath’s status as a top referee, FIFA clearly are. World football’s governing body have assigned the American to control what could be one of the spiciest fixtures of this summer’s World Cup.