Former Premier League referee questions FIFA's choice of official for England vs Argentina semi-final

Mark Halsey, a former Premier League referee, has publicly questioned FIFA’s decision to appoint Ismail Elfath for England’s World Cup semi-final against Argentina in Atalanta on Wednesday, saying he would have chosen a more seasoned official for a match of this magnitude.

Elfath, who officiates in MLS, has taken charge of three games at this tournament without encountering any significant flashpoints. Halsey argues that record leaves him underprepared for a fixture with a World Cup final place on the line and a history of controversy stretching back decades.

“Given the match’s status, the prize at stake, two major footballing powerhouses facing off and the history of the fixture, I would have preferred a top European official in charge,” Halsey wrote. “The majority of the English and Argentinian players play in Europe so I’d have liked a referee who knows them inside out and officiates regularly at the business end of the Champions League or Europa League.”

Halsey added that Elfath “will only know the Inter Miami pair Lionel Messi and Rodrigo de Paul” from the Argentina squad, and warned he “will not have faced this sort of pressure before.”

The two nations are meeting at a major tournament for the first time since the 2002 World Cup, when David Beckham scored the winner. Their meetings have rarely been straightforward — Beckham was sent off in the 1998 World Cup after a confrontation with Argentine players, and the fixture has repeatedly generated controversy.

England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford moved to reassure supporters that the Three Lions would not be drawn into the physical side of the game. “I think you’ve seen throughout the tournament our desire to win tackles but we haven’t gotten into any scuffles or anything,” he said. “We’ve been very respectful within the game. Decisions go our way, they don’t go our way, we just reset, we go again and we let the football do the talking.”

Whether Elfath can manage the occasion will become clear when the two sides kick off in Atalanta on Wednesday evening.