American referee Ismail Elfath has been appointed to take charge of the World Cup final, having already officiated group stage matches between Japan and the Netherlands and Uruguay versus Spain, as well as Norway’s last-16 victory over five-time winners Brazil.
The 44-year-old, originally from Morocco, moved to America as an 18-year-old after winning a US government-backed diversity visa lottery. He has refereed in Major League Soccer since 2012 and has twice won MLS referee of the year. He also served as fourth official for the 2022 World Cup final between France and Argentina in Qatar. Fellow Americans Corey Parker and Kyle Atkins will serve as his assistant referees, with Italian Maurizio Mariani as fourth official.
During the tournament, Elfath has issued six yellow cards and one straight red, dismissing Uruguay midfielder Agustin Canobbio for a high challenge on Spain defender Pau Cubarsi. Canobbio subsequently confronted Elfath and grabbed his shirt. The referee’s previous World Cup moments include a notable incident in 2022 when he shook the hand of Vincent Aboubakar before sending the Cameroon striker off for removing his shirt while celebrating a goal against Brazil.
England’s Michael Oliver and Anthony Taylor have been ruled out of contention for the final under Fifa regulations governing conflicts of interest. Referees cannot take charge of matches involving their own country, but English and Argentine officials are also barred from refereeing games involving either nation due to their political rivalry, stemming in part from the Falklands conflict in 1982. The same rule eliminated Argentine referee Facundo Tello from consideration. Taylor was similarly ruled out of the 2022 World Cup final between Argentina and France under the same regulations.
All three officials — Oliver, Taylor, and Tello — are also ineligible to referee the third-place play-off, as it is guaranteed to involve one of the nations in question.
Image credit: BBC Sport / BBC Sport
