Who Is Referee Ismail Elfath His Age, Height, Football Career Stats And Salary

Who Is Referee Ismail Elfath His Age, Height, Football Career Stats And Salary

Know about who Ismail Elfath is and why is he is the headlines, his wife and salary

The 40-year-old is at the centre of the controversy after he refused to consult the video assistant referee (VAR) for a second opinion on the contentious choice that has brought technology to its knees.

Who Is Referee Ismail Elfath His Age, Height, Football Career Stats And Salary FIFA World Cup 2022

His entire career stats can be found here. He is paid an average salary of around $40,000 per year in the MLS. He is paid a base salary of $70,000 at the FIFA World Cup and $3,000 per match with his total earning set to touch $200,000.

His height stands at 5 feet 8 inches.

Advertisement

The American official, who was born in Morocco, declined to take a second look at the VAR monitor and determined that Mohammed Salisu’s challenge of Cristiano Ronaldo was a foul. The referee erred, and that judgement should never have stood, according to television replays.

Why is he in the headlines? 

In the Group H curtain-raiser of the FIFA World Cup 2022 on November 24, referee Ismail Elfath officiated the match between Ghana and Portugal, which garnered media attention. Football fans from all around the world expressed their anger on social media at Elfath’s peculiar choice to ignore Christiano Ronaldo’s penalty incident during play. The penalty was given after the Moroccan American determined that Mohammad Salisu’s challenge within the penalty area was illegal.

Ronaldo easily scored from the penalty kick to give his team the advantage for the remainder of the game. The game’s spectators were shocked to learn that Elfath never walked up to the VAR room to evaluate the claimed altercation between Salisu and Ronaldo, which may have demonstrated that there was no contact between the two.

Portugal won 3-2, and the match was over. The Ghana Football Association is claimed to have asked FIFA to investigate Elfath’s actions during the aforementioned game.

Advertisement

Who is Ismail Elfath?

Soccer referee for the Professional Referee Organization, Ismail Elfath, is an American of Moroccan descent. Born on March 3, 1982, he is 40 years old.

Since 2012, he has officiated in Major League Soccer, and as of 2016, he has been on FIFA’s list of officiants. Elfath won a diversity visa lottery and entered the country in 2001 when he was 18 years old. He earned a degree in mechanical engineering in 2006 from the University of Texas in Austin. He currently makes his home in Austin, Texas.

Elfath was chosen to officiate the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Poland on March 26, 2019. He received his first career referee of the year award on November 18, 2020. Two years later, on October 14, 2022, he was given the distinction a second time.

Elfath oversaw three games at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in July 2021, including a quarterfinal contest against the host nation Japan and New Zealand.

Advertisement