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Ismail Elfath (Arabic: اسماعيل الفتح; born March 3, 1982) is a Moroccan-born American soccer referee for the Professional Referee Organization. He has been a referee in Major League Soccer since 2012 and a FIFA listed referee since 2016.

Early life

Elfath immigrated to the United States in 2001 at the age of 18 after winning a diversity visa lottery.[1][2] Elfath graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in mechanical engineering in 2006. As of 2022, Elfath resides in Austin, Texas.[2] He later became a naturalized US citizen.[3]

Career

Elfath was first a Fourth official in MLS in 2011 and made his MLS refereeing debut in 2012.[4] Elfath became a FIFA listed official in 2016.[5]

Domestic

Elfath was the referee during an August 2016 match between New York Red Bulls II and Orlando City B where the worldwide first on-field Video Assistant Referee review took place as the system was being tested in USL.[6]

Elfath was assigned the referee for the USL final between Orlando City and Charlotte Eagles in 2013. Then, in 2015, Elfath took charge of the MLS All Star Game. [7]

Elfath was named the MLS Referee of the Year for the first time in his career on November 18, 2020.[8] He received the honor for a second time two years later on October 14, 2022.[9]

He was the referee for the MLS Cup in 2022 when LAFC hosted the Philadelphia Union.[10]

International

On March 26, 2019, Elfath was selected to referee the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Poland.[11] Elfath, along with American assistant referees Corey Parker and Kyle Atkins, was selected by FIFA to officiate the final of the tournament, which Ukraine won 3-1 over South Korea.[12]

On May 17, 2019, Elfath was appointed to officiate in the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup in the United States following his participation in the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup.[13] Later that year Elfath took charge of the semi-final match at the FIFA Qatar 2019 Club World Cup.[14]

In July 2021, Elfath took charge of three matches at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, including a quarter -final match between host nation Japan and New Zealand.[15]

Elfath was chosen as one of the two referees from CONCACAF for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations held in Cameroon from January 9 to February 6, 2022.[16][17]

During the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, Elfath refereed two group stage games and a round of 16 match. He was the referee for the group H match between Portugal and Ghana ,where he awarded a penalty to Portugal in the 63rd minute. During the group stage match between Cameroon and Brazil, Elfath shook the hand of Vincent Aboubakar as he sent him off for a second yellow card. Ismail Elfath was appointed Round of 16 match between Japan and Croatia, where Croatia advanced on penalties. [18] He was selected as the fourth official for the Final between Argentina and France. Ismail Elfath, Kathryn Nesbitt, Kyle Atkins, and Corey Parker were the first Americans to work a World Cup final. [19]

Elfath was selected as a referee for the 2025 FIFA Intercontinental Cup. He was appointed as the referee for the final between PSG and Flamengo. [20]

Elfath was the referee for the 2026 CONCACAF Champions Cup Final between Toluca FC and Tigres UANL.[21]

Ismail Elfath was selected as a referee for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America.[22]

See also

References

  1. ^ “Ismail Elfath: From Casablanca to FIFA Referee- Dreams Become Realities”. Muslim American Leadership Alliance. July 18, 2016. Archived from the original on November 20, 2022. Retrieved June 24, 2019.
  2. ^ a b “Bohls: Whether it’s World Cup or world peace, Austin’s Ismail Elfath in the middle of it”. Austin American-Statesman. November 20, 2022. Archived from the original on November 20, 2022. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
  3. ^ Trujillo, Antonio (November 20, 2022). “Quién es Ismail Elfath, árbitro del Mundial Qatar 2022: historia, de qué país es, información, partidos y logros”. Goal (in Spanish). Retrieved October 5, 2025.
  4. ^ “Ismail Elfath – Professional Referee Organization”. Archived from the original on July 4, 2022. Retrieved June 24, 2019.
  5. ^ FIFA.com. “Education & Technical – Referees by Association”. FIFA.com. Archived from the original on May 11, 2015. Retrieved June 24, 2019.
  6. ^ nicholas.murray@uslsoccer.com, NICHOLAS MURRAY- (August 18, 2016). “PRO’s Elfath Part of ‘Ever-Evolving’ History”. USL Championship. Retrieved June 24, 2019.
  7. ^ “USL Championship Roll of Honor”. Retrieved May 28, 2026.
  8. ^ “Ismail Elfath named MLS Referee of the Year”. www.mlssoccer.com. November 18, 2020. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  9. ^ “Ismail Elfath named MLS Referee of the Year, Corey Rockwell named MLS Assistant Referee of the Year,” Major League Soccer (MLS), Friday, October 14, 2022. Retrieved October 14, 2022.
  10. ^ “MLS Cup Roll of Honor”. Retrieved May 28, 2026.
  11. ^ “Three U.S. Soccer Referees Selected to Officiate at 2019 U-20 World Cup”. www.ussoccer.com. Retrieved June 24, 2019.
  12. ^ “Concacaf referees earn another distinction with FIFA Under-20 World Cup Final assignment”. www.concacaf.com. Retrieved June 24, 2019.
  13. ^ “Match Officials Appointed for 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup”. www.goldcup.org. Archived from the original on May 17, 2019. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
  14. ^ “Ismail Elfath – Professional Referee Organization”. Archived from the original on May 24, 2024. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
  15. ^ “Ismail Elfath – Professional Referee Organization”. Archived from the original on February 27, 2024. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
  16. ^ “La liste des arbitres retenurs par la caf le Benin absent”. beninwebtv.com. December 14, 2021. Archived from the original on April 7, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  17. ^ Bohls, Kirk. “Bohls: Whether it’s World Cup or world peace, Austin’s Ismail Elfath in the middle of it”. Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
  18. ^ nicholas.murray@uslsoccer.com, NICHOLAS MURRAY- (June 11, 2026). “From the USL Championship Final to the FIFA World Cup Final, inside Ismail Elfath’s remarkable refereeing journey”. USL Championship. Retrieved June 15, 2026.
  19. ^ Gates, Billy (December 17, 2022). “Austin’s Ismail Elfath to be fourth official in 2022 FIFA World Cup final Sunday”. KXAN-TV. Archived from the original on December 22, 2022. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
  20. ^ Chefren (December 17, 2025). “Law 5 – The Referee: 2025 FIFA Intercontinental Cup – Referee Appointments”. Law 5 – The Referee. Retrieved May 28, 2026.
  21. ^ Arellano, Bryan; Brennan, Joe (May 30, 2026). “Who is Ismail Elfath, the referee for the CONCACAF Champions Cup final between Toluca and Tigres?”. AS USA. Retrieved May 31, 2026.
  22. ^ “Eight U.S. Soccer Referees Appointed For This Summer’s FIFA World Cup”. ussoccer.com. Retrieved May 28, 2026.