{"id":39268,"date":"2026-07-14T13:09:44","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T13:09:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/14\/lionel-messi-becomes-england-vs-argentinas-favorite-referee-after-world-cup-scandal-soccer-sports\/"},"modified":"2026-07-14T13:09:44","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T13:09:44","slug":"lionel-messi-becomes-england-vs-argentinas-favorite-referee-after-world-cup-scandal-soccer-sports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/14\/lionel-messi-becomes-england-vs-argentinas-favorite-referee-after-world-cup-scandal-soccer-sports\/","title":{"rendered":"Lionel Messi becomes England vs. Argentina&#8217;s &#8220;favorite referee&#8221; after World Cup scandal | Soccer | Sports"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>They have a winning record against England wearing their secondary colors as opposed to the iconic blue and white stripes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Now, the selection of referees for Wednesday&#8217;s semi-final has been confirmed, but history suggests it could bode ill for England.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p data-mce-linkchecker-status=\"valid\">This is because central player Ismail Elfus has never officiated a game in which Messi has lost since joining MLS side Inter Miami.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p data-mce-linkchecker-status=\"valid\">Elfas was also the fourth official when Argentina won the last World Cup final against France in 2022.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>He primarily referees in MLS and has given out 41 yellow cards in 10 games so far this season, suggesting England&#8217;s players need to be on their best behavior.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Elfs&#8217; no-nonsense approach has been reflected in this World Cup, with the 41-year-old picking up eight yellow cards and one red card in three games.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>The referee is an American but was born in Morocco, and will be assisted by fellow referees Corey Parker and Kyle Atkins. The fourth executive will be Maurizio Mariani from Italy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>It remains to be seen whether the controversial decision will be talked about when England play Argentina on Wednesday night.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.express.co.uk\/sport\/football\/2228899\/Lionel-Messi-England-Argentina-referee-World-Cup\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>They have a winning record against England wearing their secondary colors as opposed to the iconic blue and white stripes. Now, the selection of referees for Wednesday&#8217;s semi-final has been confirmed, but history suggests it could bode ill for England. This is because central player Ismail Elfus has never officiated a game in which Messi<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":39269,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-39268","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-matches"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Lionel Messi becomes England vs. Argentina&#039;s &quot;favorite referee&quot; after World Cup scandal | Soccer | Sports - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/14\/lionel-messi-becomes-england-vs-argentinas-favorite-referee-after-world-cup-scandal-soccer-sports\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lionel Messi becomes England vs. Argentina&#039;s &quot;favorite referee&quot; after World Cup scandal | Soccer | Sports - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"They have a winning record against England wearing their secondary colors as opposed to the iconic blue and white stripes. Now, the selection of referees for Wednesday&#8217;s semi-final has been confirmed, but history suggests it could bode ill for England. This is because central player Ismail Elfus has never officiated a game in which Messi\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/14\/lionel-messi-becomes-england-vs-argentinas-favorite-referee-after-world-cup-scandal-soccer-sports\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-14T13:09:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin_ok9yktt6\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin_ok9yktt6\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/14\/lionel-messi-becomes-england-vs-argentinas-favorite-referee-after-world-cup-scandal-soccer-sports\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/14\/lionel-messi-becomes-england-vs-argentinas-favorite-referee-after-world-cup-scandal-soccer-sports\/\",\"name\":\"Lionel Messi becomes England vs. Argentina's \\\"favorite referee\\\" after World Cup scandal | Soccer | Sports - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/14\/lionel-messi-becomes-england-vs-argentinas-favorite-referee-after-world-cup-scandal-soccer-sports\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/14\/lionel-messi-becomes-england-vs-argentinas-favorite-referee-after-world-cup-scandal-soccer-sports\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/7039272.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-14T13:09:44+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6b2ade58a96ab056f743f12490573ae9\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/14\/lionel-messi-becomes-england-vs-argentinas-favorite-referee-after-world-cup-scandal-soccer-sports\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/14\/lionel-messi-becomes-england-vs-argentinas-favorite-referee-after-world-cup-scandal-soccer-sports\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/14\/lionel-messi-becomes-england-vs-argentinas-favorite-referee-after-world-cup-scandal-soccer-sports\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/7039272.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/7039272.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/14\/lionel-messi-becomes-england-vs-argentinas-favorite-referee-after-world-cup-scandal-soccer-sports\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Lionel Messi becomes England vs. Argentina&#8217;s &#8220;favorite referee&#8221; after World Cup scandal | Soccer | Sports\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/\",\"name\":\"EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates\",\"description\":\"EPL VIP is your ultimate source for all things related to the English Premier League. Get the latest EPL news, live match updates, transfer rumors, team analysis, fixtures, and exclusive insights for true football fans.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6b2ade58a96ab056f743f12490573ae9\",\"name\":\"admin_ok9yktt6\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3caa6e0fae133a2d8ebe213abde6eafe85769664d063c8ab6c7960c877d904ea?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3caa6e0fae133a2d8ebe213abde6eafe85769664d063c8ab6c7960c877d904ea?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin_ok9yktt6\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/author\/admin_ok9yktt6\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Lionel Messi becomes England vs. Argentina's \"favorite referee\" after World Cup scandal | Soccer | Sports - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/14\/lionel-messi-becomes-england-vs-argentinas-favorite-referee-after-world-cup-scandal-soccer-sports\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Lionel Messi becomes England vs. Argentina's \"favorite referee\" after World Cup scandal | Soccer | Sports - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates","og_description":"They have a winning record against England wearing their secondary colors as opposed to the iconic blue and white stripes. Now, the selection of referees for Wednesday&#8217;s semi-final has been confirmed, but history suggests it could bode ill for England. This is because central player Ismail Elfus has never officiated a game in which Messi","og_url":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/14\/lionel-messi-becomes-england-vs-argentinas-favorite-referee-after-world-cup-scandal-soccer-sports\/","og_site_name":"EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates","article_published_time":"2026-07-14T13:09:44+00:00","author":"admin_ok9yktt6","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin_ok9yktt6","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/14\/lionel-messi-becomes-england-vs-argentinas-favorite-referee-after-world-cup-scandal-soccer-sports\/","url":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/14\/lionel-messi-becomes-england-vs-argentinas-favorite-referee-after-world-cup-scandal-soccer-sports\/","name":"Lionel Messi becomes England vs. Argentina's \"favorite referee\" after World Cup scandal | Soccer | Sports - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/14\/lionel-messi-becomes-england-vs-argentinas-favorite-referee-after-world-cup-scandal-soccer-sports\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/14\/lionel-messi-becomes-england-vs-argentinas-favorite-referee-after-world-cup-scandal-soccer-sports\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/7039272.jpg","datePublished":"2026-07-14T13:09:44+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6b2ade58a96ab056f743f12490573ae9"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/14\/lionel-messi-becomes-england-vs-argentinas-favorite-referee-after-world-cup-scandal-soccer-sports\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/14\/lionel-messi-becomes-england-vs-argentinas-favorite-referee-after-world-cup-scandal-soccer-sports\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/14\/lionel-messi-becomes-england-vs-argentinas-favorite-referee-after-world-cup-scandal-soccer-sports\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/7039272.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/7039272.jpg","width":1200,"height":630},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/14\/lionel-messi-becomes-england-vs-argentinas-favorite-referee-after-world-cup-scandal-soccer-sports\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Lionel Messi becomes England vs. Argentina&#8217;s &#8220;favorite referee&#8221; after World Cup scandal | Soccer | Sports"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/","name":"EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates","description":"EPL VIP is your ultimate source for all things related to the English Premier League. Get the latest EPL news, live match updates, transfer rumors, team analysis, fixtures, and exclusive insights for true football fans.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6b2ade58a96ab056f743f12490573ae9","name":"admin_ok9yktt6","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3caa6e0fae133a2d8ebe213abde6eafe85769664d063c8ab6c7960c877d904ea?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3caa6e0fae133a2d8ebe213abde6eafe85769664d063c8ab6c7960c877d904ea?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin_ok9yktt6"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/eplvip.com"],"url":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/author\/admin_ok9yktt6\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39268","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39268"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39268\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39269"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39268"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39268"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39268"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}