The appointment of the American Ismail Elfath as referee for the semifinal between Argentina and England triggered a strong reaction in the British press. Just hours before the match, various English media questioned the choice of FIFA and fueled theories about alleged favoritism towards the team led by Lionel Scaloni.
One of the harshest was the Daily Mail, which presented Elfath as "the favorite referee of Lionel Messi" and claimed that "fears of favoritism towards Argentina in the World Cup have intensified" following the announcement of the referee's appointment.
The newspaper linked this assertion to the referee's history in the Major League Soccer (MLS), where he officiated four times for Inter Miami since Messi's arrival and the American team won all those matches. It also recalled that Elfath was the fourth official in the final of the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
In that same vein, the British outlet stated that Argentina's victories over Egypt and Switzerland were surrounded by controversial refereeing decisions and asserted that these situations fueled speculation about a supposed benefit to the reigning world champion, despite FIFA rejecting those accusations and publicly explaining some of the most debated plays of the tournament.
