The truth behind referee Ismail Elfath's 100% record with Lionel Messi

The fact, in and of itself, is true: Lionel Messi has never lost a game officiated by Ismail Elfath.Elfath, who works in MLS, has overseen five of Messi's matches.All five of those matches ended in wins by Messi.But there's more to this story than that -- Elfath's assignment to England-Argentina for the World Cup semifinal is far from a sign that the tournament is "rigged" for Messi.MORE: Christian Pulisic gives a terrible answer after World Cup-ending lossDoes Ismail Elfath favor Messi?There's no actual evidence that this ref plays favorites with Messi.The reality is best spelled out by Kyle Bonn of The Sporting News in this post on X:I can't believe I'm addressing this, but here we are.Calling Ismael Elfath "Messi's favorite referee" is ludicrous and intentionally disingenuous.You know w