The Daily Mail has released evidence suggesting that American referee Ismail Elfath made a series of decisions favoring Argentina during their World Cup semifinal against England.
England suffered a 2–1 defeat to Argentina in the 2026 World Cup semifinal at Atlanta Stadium in the United States on the morning of July 16. However, following the match, the British media refused to accept Argentina’s victory without controversy.
British newspaper presents evidence accusing referee of openly favoring Argentina
Enzo Fernandez escaped punishment despite appearing to elbow Elliot Anderson in the back of the neck.
The Daily Mail highlighted two crucial incidents that it claimed demonstrated bias toward Argentina and changed the course of the match.
The first occurred in the third minute, when Enzo Fernandez swung his arm forcefully into the back of Elliot Anderson’s neck. The collision left the England midfielder dazed, and he needed several minutes before he was able to get back to his feet.
Referee Ismail Elfath stepped in to separate the two groups of players but did not show Fernandez a card.
The British newspaper argued that Fernandez deliberately committed the foul because he was not watching the ball and appeared to intentionally strike Anderson in the neck with his elbow.
It claimed that the Chelsea midfielder should have been shown a red card for violent conduct.
The controversy did not end there. The Daily Mail also claimed that Fernandez escaped another booking only a few minutes later after fouling Jude Bellingham as the England midfielder advanced toward Argentina’s penalty area.
On the touchline, England manager Thomas Tuchel reacted angrily after the referee once again decided not to punish the Argentina player with a card.
Had Fernandez received a yellow card early in the match, he might have played the remainder of the game with a completely different mindset.
The Daily Mail quoted one supporter as saying:
“Enzo Fernandez deliberately hit Anderson in the back of the neck and was not even booked. That was clearly a red card. The referee was like a thief.”
Another fan wrote:
“Enzo Fernandez elbowed Anderson in the neck, shoved Bellingham and then fouled Bellingham in a dangerous position. Yet the referee did not show him a single card. Where did the World Cup organizers find this referee?”
A third supporter commented:
“VAR was terrible. They did not review any of Enzo Fernandez’s violent challenges.”
The Daily Mail also pointed to another incident that it claimed showed Argentina received favorable treatment.
According to the newspaper, Lionel Messi appeared to foul Djed Spence during a challenge inside the penalty area. Immediately afterward, Messi delivered the cross that allowed Lautaro Martinez to score the winning header and seal Argentina’s 2–1 victory.
One supporter wrote on X:
“Messi stepped on Spence before Lautaro scored. Why does VAR only seem to work when teams score against Argentina? VAR did not even check whether Messi had fouled Djed Spence.”
Another fan commented:
“Why did the referee not give a foul? Spence should have gone down and rolled around in pain. Instead, he got back up and continued giving everything for his team.”
A different supporter raised the same concern:
“This is a serious question. Why was Messi stepping on Spence’s foot ignored? It happened immediately before Argentina scored.”
A fourth fan expressed frustration:
“Why did the referee ignore it, and why did VAR not intervene when Messi fouled Spence?”
After defeating England, Argentina secured their place in the 2026 World Cup final.
They will face Spain at New York New Jersey Stadium at 2:00 a.m. on July 20.
