Some of the biggest stars on Earth are playing in the Argentina vs. England World Cup semifinal Wednesday in Atlanta. Lionel Messi and Julian Alvarez feature for Argentina, while Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane play England. But one other key participant actually went to the University of Texas – the referee Ismail Elfath.
The referee crew for Argentina-England is a CONCACAF crew. CONCACAF is the governing body for soccer in Central America, North America and the Caribbean. FIFA rotates crews based on region and quality of the crew.
Elfath is working his second World Cup. He made his debut at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, refereeing a game between Portugal and Ghana. Elfath awarded a penalty to Portugal in the 63rd minute of the match, which Portugal won 3-2. He also worked Cameroon vs. Brazil and a round of 16 match between Japan and Croatia. He was selected as the fourth official for the final between Argentina and France.
In the 2026 World Cup, Elfath has been busy. He worked Japan-Netherlands at the Dallas Stadium and Uruguay-Spain. In stoppage time, he sent off Agustín Canobbio from Uruguay. Spain went onto win 1-0. He also worked the Brazil-Norway round of 16 match. Today Elfath is the referee the semifinal England vs. Argentina, a high honor in his profession.
Elfath was born in Morocco and immigrated to the United States in 2001 at the age of 18 after winning a Diversity Immigrant Visa. Elfath used the opportunity to attend University of Texas at Austin, where he got a degree in mechanical engineering in 2006. Elfath still lives in Austin and has become a naturalized US citizen.
Elfath was a member of the UT club soccer team while on campus. He also began his referee career. After graduating from the Cockrell School of Engineering, he continued playing soccer in local leagues and began officiating recreational and youth leagues around Austin. He would later become a ref in the MLS.
This article originally appeared on Longhorns Wire: Argentina vs. England World Cup semifinal referee is a Texas Longhorn
Reporting by Trey Luerssen, Longhorns Wire / Longhorns Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Trey Luerssen, Longhorns Wire | USA TODAY Network
