Trevor

@Underdog If the MLS is as easy as people say, then not losing four matches with this guy refereeing is not a conspiracy lol

BREAKING: Ismail Elfath will referee Wednesday's match between England and Argentina. Lionel Messi has never lost a match at Inter Miami refereed by Elfath.

@TheRealBronx_gh @saalutekk9147 @TouchmineX No red card, no penalty kick goal for either team. I remember watching this game, the shootout was 10 or 11 rounds.

@saalutekk9147 @TouchmineX Who won the game ? Penalty doesn’t end in a draw and who knows how it got to 1-1 may be red card and a favourable penalty

🚨🚨 𝗕𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚: The semi-final between England and Argentina will be officiated by MLS referee Ismael Elfath. Since Messi joined Inter Miami, they have a 100% win record under him and also won the Leagues Cup final. 😳 England have been robbed even before the game has started. 🇦🇷🤑

@DailyMail Yikes this is embarrassing. The ref has only been in charged of four of Messi's matches, all in the mls lol. 3 wins and one penalty shootout win is not some shocking conspiracy.

Lionel Messi gets his favourite referee for England vs Argentina World Cup semi-final

@TeleFootball @ben_rumsby Oh no, he's won four mls matches with him refereeing lol (3 wins, one penalty shootout win)

Who is the referee overseeing England vs Argentina? 📺 First official to referee match that used VAR 🟥 Sent Uruguay midfielder Agustín Canobbio off 🤔 Messi has 100% win record under US-based referee @ben_rumsby profiles Ismail Elfath ⤵️ telegraph.co.uk/football/2026/…

@mussarat_zia @TeleFootball @ben_rumsby This would maybe have more weight if it wasn't just four mls matches lol

@TeleFootball @ben_rumsby Ismail Elfath. Has never overseen a match which Messi has lost.

@NealGardner_ I seriously doubt there will be any change

Music to my ears! Go to a 3ATB, get Simeone in as a wingback, and find a way to incorporate Paz and/or Barco.

@Thechat101 Of all the rigged allegations, the teams played is probably the worst. Because if everyone had done their job, path would have been Uruguay, USA or Turkey, Portugal, England, Spain/France.

Shannon sharpe wakes it up . He says Argentina is the first country to the reach the FIFA World Cup semi finals in its 96 years history to not have faced a top 15 ranked country . He says this is not a conspiracy they want Messi to win the tournament

@NealGardner_ I know people are saying the semifinal is not the place to experiment, but quite frankly, Argentina have 0% chance to win the world cup playing the way they have been. Through the middle just does not work, they need to try something with Simeone to at leas threaten out wide.

🤷‍♂️

@DamirVrc @pieohmye @IanDarke It was a BBC article but I could be misremembering. I would just read the rules but when I search for them I’m just getting articles from news sites rather than the official rules

@trev_93098 @pieohmye @IanDarke I didn't see that in the report of changes implemented before this WC.

Reflecting further on the Embolo red in Switz v Argentina , how was this a case of ‘ mistaken identity’? Who was misidentified ? Embolo cheated and can’t complain but very strange one.

@jasonjwilde It happened because embolo decided to leap in the air, scream, roll five times towards the bench, and hold his leg (funnily enough, the wrong one).

So if the official doesn’t give the yellow card to Paredes initially and calls it a normal foul or no foul at all, then it doesn’t go to VAR and Embolo is still playing, yes? So this essentially happens because the ref blew the call? Help me understand.

@ESPNFC It was a really dumb dive. I’m fairly certain if he hadn’t rolled like 5 times towards the bench holding his left leg (the right was the one that would’ve supposedly been hit), the ref wouldn’t have given paredes a card.

Leandro Paredes was given a yellow card for this challenge but after review, VAR overturned it and gave a yellow card to Breel Embolo for simulation. Embolo was already on a yellow card so he was sent off with a red card.

@NealGardner_ I don’t understand what people want. Apparently most fans don’t want shameless diving and simulation out of the game… I thought the new rule of making players leave the field if they need any treatment has cut down on the pathetic fake injuries, and this cuts down on flopping

I’m sorry, but I have no sympathy for Embolo. He let his team down massively, one of the most unnecessary cases of simulation I’ve ever seen. Doing that already on a yellow, in the VAR era… beyond baffling.

@michaelttfw Clear and obvious I assume. If there is any contact, VAR will not intervene. If there was simulation but also contact, yellow will not be given to the player who simulated because there was still a foul

Now that the line in the sand has been drawn, I'd like every yellow card to be looked at by VAR and if the slightest bit of simulation happened, for it to be reversed. Why stop at cards actually? Let's look at every single foul. Can of worms.

@DamirVrc @pieohmye @IanDarke Didn’t fifa change the rules before the WC so that mistaken identity includes when a player gets booked due to the simulation of an opposing player? So paredes was given yellow for a foul, but then they found that embolo simulated, so he gets a yellow. Mistaken Identity, no?

@pieohmye @IanDarke That is not what a mistaken identity is, that is a mistaken offence. Rules are clear, identity is about the wrong player getting booked for the same offence. Foul and simulation are not the same offences.

@theobaker_ The amount of people who don’t know the rules yet so confidently speak out is crazy. The Mistaken Identity rule was used where the yellow was transferred from the player who unjustly received it to the opposing team player who dived.

This is crazy, may as well give Messi another World Cup

@MattyFC__ No

was that the first time they made a VAR check to take back a yellow card?

@markgoldbridge I understand they reviewed it because the ref gave paredes a yellow card when there was a dive (I know VAR is allowed to step in), but I wish no yellow was given to Embolo. It was a clear dive, but I think in this situation (already on a yellow), a second yellow is super harsh

Since when has VAR reviewed yellow cards? Very dodgy that

@NealGardner_ Why is he so against getting some width

Scaloni, I trust you. I really do, but man…

@TouchmineX A pathetic flop from Kane, Norway player got the ball. Did you think posting an image of Kane screaming while in the air means there was a foul?

🚨 𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗥𝗨𝗣𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗔𝗟𝗘𝗥𝗧: A blatant foul on Harry Kane in the build-up to Norway’s goal was completely ignored. The referee didn’t even send it for a VAR review. Meanwhile, Egypt had a goal disallowed against Argentina for a similar incident—one that was arguably much softer than the challenge on Kane. Where is the consistency? 🤔

@MadridPreeti Lmao a picture of Kane in the air? Show the clean tackle beforehand

🚨 Harry Kane was clearly fouled in the buildup to the Norway goal but there wasn't even a VAR check However VAR went 2 minutes back to intervene Egypt's Wonderful Goal against Egypt Why are the rules different for Argentina vs other teams !? 😱