Referee Ismail Elfath made headlines after he officiated the game between Portugal and Ghana in the Group H curtain-raiser of the FIFA World Cup 2022 on November 24. 

Football fans from across social media vented their anger at Elfath’s strange decision not to review Christiano Ronaldo’s penalty incident during the game. The penalty was awarded after the Moroccan American adjudged a challenge by Mohammad Salisu in the penalty box as a foul. 

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Ronaldo was easily able to convert the penalty into a goal, giving his side a lead during the game. Viewers of the game were left stunned as Elfath never went up to the VAR room to review the alleged altercation between Salisu and Ronaldo, which could have proven that there was no contact established between the two. 

The match concluded 3-2 in favor of Portugal. The Ghana Football Association has reportedly petitioned FIFA to look into Elfath’s conduct during the said game.

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Who is Ismail Elfath?

Ismail Elfath 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.  

In 2001, Elfath immigrated to the United States at the age of 18 after winning a diversity visa lottery. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in mechanical engineering in 2006. Currently, he resides in Austin, Texas.

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On March 26, 2019, Elfath was selected to referee the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Poland.

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

In July 2021, Elfath supervised three matches at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, including a quarter-final match between host nation Japan and New Zealand.