Brief history of Referee Ismail Elfath, the referee who handled Portugal vs Ghana game

Ismail Elfath is a Moroccan-born American soccer referee for the Professional Referee Organization. He has been a referee in Major League Soccer (MLS) since 2012, and a FIFA listed referee since 2016.

Ismail Elfath became a professional referee in 2011 shortly after Ghana’s remarkable feat at the 2010 World Cup.

The American referee who is popular in the MLS league is famously known for giving two Ghanaian players red cards in one match.

He gave Jonathan Mensah and Lalas Abubakar red cards in Columbus Crew’s 3-0 loss to Philadelphia Union. Crew’s coach took the referee on after that incident.

The two-time MLS referee of the year later earned a big lift when he handed the 2019 World Club Cup semis. He sent off an Al-Hilal player as Flamingo won the match 3-1.

He has officiated a total of 265 matches, in which he has given 958 yellow cards, 65 red cards, and 84 penalties awarded excluding the Ghana versus Portugal match.

His official statistics in the MLS are 192 matches officiated, 676 yellow Cards, 51 red cards, and 62 penalties awarded.

Referee Elfath has officiated more than 5 matches with his American assistant coaches; Kyle Atkins and Corey Parker over the years. They are the same three referees who handled the Ghana versus Portugal match.

The big question still remains, why didn’t he check the VAR when the players asked for it? I guess you are also looking for the same answer? We wait for FIFA’s comment.