Ismail Elfath from host country in action for his third game at 2026 WC: Brazil - Norway in the Round of 16.
Match #91
Round of 16
5 July 2026, 22:00 CET
MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford
BRAZIL - NORWAY
Referee: Ismail Elfath USA
Assistant Referee 1: Corey Parker USA
Assistant Referee 2: Kyle Atkins USA
Fourth Official: Said Martinez HON
Reserve AR: Walter Lopez HON
Video Assistant Referee: Tatiana Guzman NCA
Assistant Video Assistant Referee 1 : Leodan Gonzalez URU
Assistant Video Assistant Referee 2 : Carlos Del Cerro Grande ESP
Good luck to Eltafh and his team!
ReplyDeleteHow did that PK correct a clear and obvious error?
DeleteAssigning him to such an important match after his poor performance in the Spain-Uruguay game is clearly a political decision... he'll probably referee the final too... I have no faith in anyone left after today'... the worst World Cup ever.
ReplyDeleteHonestly we shouldn’t even bother commenting on the remaining matches. It’s not like the onfield decisions matter anyway; one call and you know the rest….
ReplyDeleteIt will be interesting to see how Elfath performs, personally I am not optimistic but I wish him and the team well and hopefully there are no major issues.
ReplyDeleteOFFICIAL: Belgian Federation statement on Folarin Balogun red card case…
ReplyDeletehttps://x.com/belreddevils/status/2073852237957525776?s=46
Host nation favoritism. That is what this assignment is.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn’t be surprised at all if the Ref Comm somehow shoehorns Penso into another assignment.
Heck, she and her crew might already be penciled in for the 3rd place match.
Interesting to see the political interference in the United States red card ban being over turned, you can’t rule things out.
DeleteI wonder if we will see a harsh line today from the ref after last nights horrenduous performance. FIFA can ill afford another display like that.
ReplyDeleteHarsh and strict are two words that I wouldn’t associate with Elfath. I’d also add slow, stiff, and immobile.
DeleteMaybe he is told to be a certain "way" tonight.
DeleteConsidering how much this forum despises all non-UEFA referees, I'm sure every questionable decision Elfath makes for 90 minutes will be indicative of how incompetent he is. If the game is getting heated and he starts giving cards, you'll all say he lost control.
ReplyDeleteWell there’s your first big decision of the game and he mad a complete hash of it. Poor positioning for a relatively easy on field decision to be made
DeleteWow, your post really aged well…
DeleteGood first offside by AR2
ReplyDeleteGood offside decision. Perhaps they'll have the king of Norway phone up and reverse it
ReplyDeleteMuito.brm posição de impedimento
ReplyDeleteStonewall penalty
ReplyDeleteFull-Sequence + APP Replay:
Deletehttps://streamable.com/bncg3n
Huge miss by Elfath
ReplyDeleteClear PK missed on 11'. Elfath waved it away and I can't believe it was missed on field.
ReplyDeleteAll stemmed from being in the wrong position to properly analyse the challenge.
DeleteUnacceptable at this level
ReplyDeleteabsolutely clear penalty kick to be given
ReplyDeleteThis should be spotted live!
ReplyDeleteHere we go again.....
ReplyDeleteclear pen
ReplyDeleteClear pelanty
ReplyDeleteHuge miss, unacceptable to miss on live. It was on his face.
ReplyDeleteClear PK missed
ReplyDeleteGot to be an OFR
ReplyDeleteNo comment. This is a Stonewall penalty….refereeing at this world cup is simply awful.
ReplyDeleteYes
DeleteNo referee again today. elfath is missing. So easy and clear penalty not given. …. Easy
ReplyDeleteVery poor to miss that.
ReplyDeleteGod that was too clear
ReplyDeleteClear and concise announcement, thats a positive.
ReplyDeleteWell done VAR
ReplyDeleteEmbarrassing to not see that live on the pitch. Very poor!
ReplyDeleteGood announcement after review not the best of starts by the referee
ReplyDeleteClear pk. Clear caution card for dissent. Cannot let the player grab your arm.
ReplyDeleteYes.. and what happened to "only the captain can talk to the ref" ?
Delete@CQuenza
DeleteIt's just a UEFA guideline AFAIK, not FIFA's.
It should be a FIFA rule also. It has worked wonders in Europe.
Deletepossible foul in APP before the PK?
ReplyDeleteI was thinking the same....
DeleteThere should also be a yc for that foul tbh
ReplyDeleteWell surely he is done now, even despite being from the host country.... With Beida Busacca said "thank god we have someone in Dallas".... Ditto tonight.
ReplyDeleteThis is simply unacceptable to not detect this live. Very poor Elfath again. Thks Guzman.
ReplyDeleteAnd i don’t speak about the dissent with a player who touched ref…
DeleteWell,strange for me, good positioning and missed this situation. Congrats to Tatiana Guzman!
ReplyDeleteYet to see a wide angle replay but I'm not convinced on the good positioning part. I think he's too straight behind it and doesn't see the touch from attacker before defender trips him.
Delete+1. Straight behind the attacker was a very bad angle
DeleteYes, because he is very slow and not athletic. He cant keep up with pace.
DeleteAnd all continues....
ReplyDeletePênalti bem marcado porém.se adiantou um pouco deveria ter voltado.
ReplyDeleteTbh... just let Michael Oliver ref the rest of the tournament :)
ReplyDeleteCome on! Oliver is like an old aunt sometimes like in CAN-MOR he burns the cake!
DeleteHow terrible VAR decision!!! The defender reached the ball before contact!
ReplyDeleteBtw there has been a foul by Brasil already in the build up… VAR room is in trouble…
Watching a different game?
Deletehttps://x.com/11tial/status/2073863684766515262?s=46
DeleteELFATH doing Elfath things...
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think about the possible Foul before the PK? I think Guzman should have shown him the Situation at least.
ReplyDeleteNot clear and obvious. Guzman hasn’t been very good on VAR
Deletehas been**
DeleteCunha is one to dive quite often so can understand referee's thinking twice when he goes down.....but still should be given on-field.
ReplyDeleteNo Well done VAR and unacceptable Eflath. I think there was also a foul in build up, she should've checked the whole thing. At least he missed so it wont matter
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't be shocked to see Guzman as VAR on the final. She's been strongly supported on the Germany call and this was clearly correct
ReplyDeleteAlmost each game i watch on this WC is a catastrophic. Colina and Infantino must understand.m, as many more cameras and technology you put, as better your referees must so they dont look like clowns. 🤡 most of the referees here are not for professional football neither are they for World Cup!
ReplyDelete1.There was a foul on the Norway player before the penalty incident.
ReplyDelete2.You should have awarded one of the clearest penalties in the world during live play.
3.Even after reviewing it on VAR, you forgot to issue the yellow card
A reminder that cards are downgraded when PKs are awarded. A red while attempting to play the ball is yellow and a yellow is not given for. UC.
DeleteWhich is a stupid rule as you can potentially harm a player a lot and "only" give the penalty away anyways.
DeleteUnless the challenge is deemed reckless then a YC may follow. This was a clear attempt to play the ball and in the careless category
DeleteThis is %100 Yellow Card
DeleteThis is reckless and this is not downgraded.
DeleteThat IS not a pen, thankfully missed
ReplyDeleteNo need for YC, careless trip only
ReplyDeleteGood no PK call on 24'
ReplyDelete,+1
DeleteIn VAR era refs rarely whistle PK on the pitch. I have the feeling as they wait VAR to call them if it’s penalty. That shows how many mistakes they had before VAR. This situation was so obvious that this is really big mistake from Elfath. He was weak in this WC and he is still there only because he is home referee. And probably he would get SF or something like that, but he didn’t deserve it.
ReplyDeleteHe had a better sprint at 24'.
ReplyDeleteI looks like it's going to be much easier today as the teams are not very interested in tackling.
ReplyDeleteThis match will change dramatically on the first goal. That does not mean i agree that neither team is interested in tackling.
DeleteSo I will jump to the conclusion the American Elfath is not in the run in for the final by now it's a shame it would have been a fairytale
ReplyDeleteGiven the final
DeleteIs in New York. It’s highly likely the USA will be out. And when u add that Donald J seems to have got balogun off his one match suspension. Infantino will want a local boy and local bar on the game
Did Donald J. get Cristiano Ronaldo off his two game suspension as well? I don't think so. FIFA just wants the players the crowds to see the players they paid to see. The crowds in general don't care about the minutiae of what we are talking about here. They just want to see the best games.
Delete+1
DeleteGood patience on that highboot ‘39 waiting for possible advantage that did not materialize.
ReplyDeleteGood spot by the ref to wave play on 40 ' for a scoring opportunity
ReplyDeleteI still think Elfath has the soft skills to get a SF/Final but he just doesn't seem to have the explosive movement needed since his injury.
ReplyDeleteElfath +1 , VAR -100
ReplyDeletehttps://x.com/11tial/status/2073863684766515262?s=46
It's an interesting clip. In the past we'd argue still a foul because the attacker could still play it, but any touch on the ball seems to be the new standard for no foul in the penalty area.
DeleteElfath gave a goal kick so he was absolutely wrong as well...
DeleteDefinitely still a clear penalty. He barely touched the ball and he certainly didn't play it..
DeleteSo if one touch the ball, he could break the leg??? Come on guys!
DeleteBoring game... not much to control...
ReplyDeleteBad WC in terms of making our beloved game turn into NFL or NBA,making it into 4 quarters with commercial breaks.
ReplyDeleteOfficiating has been dreadful and not at good level for sure.
We needed to make progress with VAR and all that technology.
Too many steps backwards.
Yep,no clear yc for spa.
ReplyDeleteAll things considered it's been a fairly positive half from Elfath in a football focussed game. Yes he got the KMI wrong and that was down to square positioning and being caught straight behind the incident. His movement and positioning have varied from being fluid and dynamic to being stiff and laborious but movement is certainly an improvement from previous games. Foul detection and consistency (Missed PK aside) have been good and has displayed good use of body language throughout when interacting. It is very clear he's not at 100% physically and it would be curious just how good and effective e really could be if he was.
ReplyDeleteHe only has one significant decision to make in the first half, otherwise it’s a complete non-event, and he gets that one wrong. So no, I wouldn’t call that a “positive” performance.
DeleteEasy game ,unlike last night a lot of respect amongest the players for each other
ReplyDeleteA poor performance by Al-Fateh: a clear penalty that didn't even warrant a VAR check, and abysmal positioning.
ReplyDeleteHow can a referee this bad officiate the final match?
https://x.com/11tial/status/2073863684766515262?s=46
DeleteHalf time, overall good performance by the American Elfath only one key incident missed (PK) I guess he missed because of the high bar for fouls yet on this occasion the defender didn't touch the ball
ReplyDeleteWhere I come from getting 1 wrong call is not that bad in 45+'
49:20 – A clear missed caution for a tactical foul by Brazil. The referee blew for the foul, hesitated, and then allowed play to restart quickly. Had he reacted faster and shown the yellow card immediately, the opportunity for a quick free kick would never have arisen.
ReplyDeleteOverall, an okay first half in terms of foul recognition, but he missed a clear penalty that, in my opinion, he did not have the courage to award because of poor positioning. He lacked the right angle to clearly assess the incident and instead seemed to leave the decision to the VAR. His overall refereeing felt hesitant and lacked rhythm. He spoke to players at the wrong moments on several occasions and seemed to lack a natural feel for the flow and management of the game.
I believe Elfath has lacked authority since his last match. That was a clear penalty that should have been called on the spot, rather than waiting five minutes for a VAR decision. Then there was that clear foul on Vinicius in stoppage time (45+5) that wasn't called. He’s been watching plays from too far away. He’s lucky that both teams want to play football and aren't trying to make his life difficult; perhaps that—along with the fact that he’s the "home" referee—is why he’s staying in the tournament, despite performances that have been far from convincing.
ReplyDeleteOn Dutch TV, just showed defender touched the ball prior to "fouling" Cunha for penalty, and it should never have been a penalty.....
ReplyDeletehttps://twitter.com/j_campbell_88/status/2073863507817230690
DeleteThe touch on the ball is only marginal, so saying that he clearly plays the ball first is misleading and, in my opinion, not defensible. The player is responsible for controlling his body and clearly makes contact with the opponent, bringing him down. A careless sliding challenge, a clear penalty.
DeleteEven on our broadcast there was a zoom in and the touch was there
DeleteElfath wasn't shown all the angles by VAR. In fact I believe he was only shown one angle which didn't show the touch
DeleteI got the ball first! Not a defense against a foul decision.
ReplyDelete@dd But in the modern game any touch has been viewed as enough to say no foul if theres not a secondary movement.
ReplyDeleteI don’t agree. That principle applies when the defender clearly wins the ball first and the subsequent contact is simply an unavoidable consequence of the challenge. Here, the touch on the ball is only marginal and doesn’t justify the way he goes through the opponent. The contact with the opponent is what actually brings him down, so I don’t think the challenge is defensible just because there was a slight touch on the ball.
Delete