Frightening stat emerges that should worry England as referee appointed for Argentina game
With the match officials announced for England's World Cup semi-final against Argentina tomorrow, paranoid fans have noticed a worrying detail.
It has been a World Cup marked both by excitement and controversy, with decisions about the US team seeing direct intervention from Donald Trump, and some shock early exits from the competition.
Now, the end of the tournament is in sight, and England are still in the mix at this late stage on the competition, playing Argentina in the semi-finals.
But some eagle-eyed fans have noted a worrying statistic about the choice of referee that FIFA has put forward to officiate this match.
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This is Ismail Elfath, a 44-year-old official who was born in Morocco and grew up in the US, and who has previously officiated big World Cup moments, including being the fourth official for the last final between Argentina and France.
This saw the two teams drawing 3-3 at full time, with Argentina going on to win 4-2 on penalties and lift the coveted World Cup trophy.
Elfath worked in IT before leaving this career to work as a full time football official.
Some fans looked at the results that he has had while officiating matches involving both Argentina and Lionel Messi, and were worried about England's chances.
That's because Messi's side Inter Miami have a 100 percent win record across the five times he has officiated since Messi joined the team, creating superstitious concern among fans on social media.
Of course, signing one of the best active players in the world to the team is much more likely to have a big impact on a team's success.
Elfath will be joined by Corey Parker and Kyle Atkins, who will be assistant referees for the match.
Meanwhile, Maurizio Mariani will act as the fourth official, and Daniele Bindoni will be the reserve assistant referee.
The World Cup is now moving into its final stages, with all four of the semi-finalists now confirmed.
France were the first team to secure their spot in the semi-finals after beating Morocco 2-0 on 9 July.
They will face off against Spain, who won their spot with a 2-1 result against Belgium on 10 July, with the two teams now set to play on 14 July at 8pm UK time.
England were able to secure their place in the semi-finals after beating Norway 2-1.
Norway had gone through to the quarter-finals after a surprise victory over Brazil, sending the most successful World Cup team packing.
Meanwhile, England won a hard fought match against co-hosts Mexico, notching up a 3-2 win at Azteca Stadium and making this England squad one of the few teams to beat Mexico on their home turf.
Argentina became the last team to secure a spot in the semi-finals, beating Switzerland 3-1. The teams will face off on 15 July at 8pm UK time.
England and Argentina have a historic football rivalry going all the way back to England's last World Cup victory in 1966, with Argentina claiming that an England goal was offside.
The rivalry was further inflamed by the controversial 'Hand of God' goal by Diego Maradona in 1986, which was allowed despite subsequent evidence that it was a handball.
England last faced Argentina in a friendly in 2005, with England winning 3-2.
However, FIFA Chief Refereeing Officer Pierluigi Collina has stressed that referees are ‘not influenced by anyone’ and with so many matches played in a short space of time 'it's normal that some things do not go as expected'.
"Of course, constructive discussion about decisions will always be part of football, but unfounded allegations have no place in our sport," he said.
"Nobody can question the integrity of the FIFA World Cup match officials. When this happens, it may provoke reactions that lead to threats against them and their families. This is not right.
“Equally, nobody can claim that FIFA Refereeing can be influenced by anyone, not even by the FIFA President [Gianni Infantino]. He has always shown his full support for FIFA Team One while trusting us to work with complete independence. Match officials make honest decisions and, just like players and coaches, they always try to do their best.”
He added: “We believe that a foul is a foul. Regardless of whether the foul appears 'obvious', if the referee did not see it on the field of play, the VAR can intervene.”
If England win the World Cup, do we get a bank holiday?
Now that the Three Lions have made it to the semi-finals of the World Cup, thoughts have turned to the possibility that football really could be coming home - and what better way to celebrate England’s success than a day off work?
Outgoing Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer previously hinted at the prospect of a bank holiday if Thomas Tuchel’s side win the tournament.
“On the question of a bank holiday, I think I don't want to jinx it, but ask me again if we get to the final,” he told reporters at a Nato conference on 8 July.
With the final taking place on Sunday (19 July), it’s believed that the celebratory bank holiday would likely fall on the following Friday (24 July).
Only time will tell!
Kit Roberts