Alireza Faghani ( fa, عليرضا فغانى; born 21 March 1978) is an Iranian international football referee who has been officiating in the
Persian Gulf Pro League
The Persian Gulf Pro League ( fa, لیگ برتر خلیج فارس, ''Lig-e Bartar-e Xalij-e Fârs''), formerly known as the Iran Pro League ( fa, links=no, لیگ برتر ایران, ''Lig-e bartar-e Irân''), is the highest division of profe ...
for several seasons and has been on the FIFA list since 2008. Faghani has refereed important matches such as the
2014 AFC Champions League Final, the
2015 AFC Asian Cup Final
The 2015 AFC Asian Cup Final was a football match which took place on 31 January 2015 at the Stadium Australia in Sydney, Australia, to determine the winner of 2015 AFC Asian Cup. It was played between South Korea and hosts Australia. Austral ...
, the
2015 FIFA Club World Cup Final, the
2016 Olympic football final match. He has refereed matches in the
2017 Liga 1,
2017 FIFA Confederations Cup
The 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup was the 10th and final edition of the FIFA Confederations Cup, a quadrennial international men's football tournament organised by FIFA. It was held in Russia, from 17 June to 2 July 2017, as a prelude to the 20 ...
,
2018 FIFA World Cup
The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national Association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awa ...
in Russia,
2019 AFC Asian Cup
The 2019 AFC Asian Cup was the 17th edition of the AFC Asian Cup, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Asia organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It was held in the United Arab Emirates from 5 January to 1 ...
in
UAE
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
and the
2022 FIFA World Cup
The 2022 FIFA World Cup is an international association football, football tournament contested by the men's national teams of FIFA's member associations. The 22nd FIFA World Cup is taking place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022 ...
in Qatar. Alireza migrated to Australia to referee for Australia A-League in September 2019.
Early life
He was born on 21 March 1978 in
Kashmar
Kashmar () ( fa, کاشمر, also Romanized as ''Kāshmar''; formerly ''Keshmar'', '' Torshīz'' or ''Soltanabad'') is a city and the capital of Kashmar County, in Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran. Kashmar is located near the river Shesh Tara ...
, a city near
Mashhad
Mashhad ( fa, مشهد, Mašhad ), also spelled Mashad, is the List of Iranian cities by population, second-most-populous city in Iran, located in the relatively remote north-east of the country about from Tehran. It serves as the capital of R ...
. His nickname is ''Behrooz'' (). His father, Mohammad Faghani () was also a football referee. He has a younger brother named Mohammadreza, who referees in Sweden.
Faghani was part of the youth team of
Bank Melli, and also played for Shahab Khodro,
Etka
ETKA is the official electronic parts catalogue for Volkswagen Group motor vehicles. Launched in 1989, ETKA superseded the older parts books and microfilm-based catalogues. ETKA is an abbreviation from the german: Elektronischer Teilekatalog. It ...
, and
Niroye Zamini. He also played in Iran's
League 2
The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...
which is the third tier in the Iranian football pyramid. However, in the end he decided to be a football referee.
Refereeing career
Faghani became a
FIFA
FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
referee in 2008, only a year after officiating in the top flight league in Iran. After becoming a FIFA referee Faghani has moved up the ladder really fast especially in Asia. After only one year of international experience Faghani took charge of the
2009 AFC President's Cup Final which was played between
Regar-TadAZ Tursunzoda
Regar-TadAZ Tursunzoda ( Tajiki: Регар-ТадАЗ Турсунзода клуби футболи), ( fa, باشگاه فوتبال ریگر-تداز تورسونزاده), is a Tajik professional football club based in Tursunzoda, that ...
and
Dordoi-Dynamo Naryn
Football Club Dordoi Bishkek ('' ky, Дордой Бишкек Футбол Клубу, Dordoj Bişkek Futbol Klubu'') is a Kyrgyzstan, Kyrgyz professional association football, football club based in Bishkek, that competes in the Kyrgyz Premier ...
which was won 2–0 by the hosts. A year later he was again in charge of a final but this time it was a much more important final in the
2010 AFC Challenge Cup
The 2010 AFC Challenge Cup was the third edition of the tournament which was held from 16–27 February 2010 in Sri Lanka. India, the defending champions, fielded their under-23 team for this tournament in preparation for the 2010 Asian Game ...
where the winner qualified for the
2011 AFC Asian Cup
The 2011 AFC Asian Cup was the 15th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were held in Qatar from 7 to 29 January 2011. It was the fifte ...
. He gave a red card to the North Korean defender in the 32nd minute but
North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...
went on to defeat
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the sout ...
in penalties.
He was named as the
fourth referee for the opening match of the
2014 FIFA World Cup
The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...
between
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
and
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
. He also refereed the
2014 AFC Champions League
The 2014 AFC Champions League was the 33rd edition of the top-level Asian club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 12th under the current AFC Champions League title. Guangzhou Evergrande were the defe ...
Final first leg match between
Al-Hilal and
Western Sydney Wanderers
Western Sydney Wanderers Football Club (colloquially known as Western Sydney, or simply as Wanderers) is an Australian professional soccer club based in the Western Sydney region of Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier ...
. He is also one of the officials of the
2015 AFC Asian Cup
The 2015 AFC Asian Cup was the 16th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It was held in Australia from 9 to 31 January 2015. The tournament was ...
, refereeing his first match in
Group B
Group B was a set of regulations for grand touring (GT) vehicles used in sports car racing and rallying introduced in 1982 by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Although permitted to enter a GT class of the World Sportscar ...
between
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
and
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
that ended 0–1. Faghani awarded Saudi Arabia a penalty kick but
Naif Hazazi
Naif Ahmad Hazazi ( ar, نايف أحمد هزازي; born 27 July 1988), also nicknamed ''Al Saqr'' which means ''The Falcon'', is a Saudi Arabian professional footballer, who plays as a striker former the Saudi Arabia national team.
Persona ...
missed it.
He was appointed to referee the
2015 AFC Asian Cup Final
The 2015 AFC Asian Cup Final was a football match which took place on 31 January 2015 at the Stadium Australia in Sydney, Australia, to determine the winner of 2015 AFC Asian Cup. It was played between South Korea and hosts Australia. Austral ...
, which was contested by
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
and
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. Faghani was the referee in the
2015 FIFA Club World Cup Final between
Club Atlético River Plate
Club Atlético River Plate, commonly known as River Plate, is an Argentine professional
sports club based in the Núñez, Buenos Aires, Núñez neighborhood of Buenos Aires. Founded in 1901, the club is named after the English name for the city ...
and
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football.
Founded ...
. He was also the referee in the
2016 Indian Super League Final between
Kerala Blasters
Kerala Blasters Football Club (), commonly referred to as The Blasters, is an Indian professional football club based in Kochi, Kerala, that competes in the Indian Super League, the top tier of football in India. The club was established i ...
and
ATK. Perhaps the most important match in which he was the main referee was the
2016 Olympic football final match between host Brazil and Germany.
Faghani was referee in six matches of the
2017 Liga 1 in Indonesia and two matches of the
2017 FIFA Confederations Cup
The 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup was the 10th and final edition of the FIFA Confederations Cup, a quadrennial international men's football tournament organised by FIFA. It was held in Russia, from 17 June to 2 July 2017, as a prelude to the 20 ...
in Russia.
Faghani was appointed to be a referee for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. After the conclusion of the round of 16, it was announced that Faghani was one of 17 referees who had been selected to be assigned matches for the remainder of the tournament.
He was also referee of the
2018 AFF Championship final between Vietnam – Malaysia in its 2nd leg. On 5 December 2018, it was announced that Faghani had been appointed to referee at the
2019 AFC Asian Cup
The 2019 AFC Asian Cup was the 17th edition of the AFC Asian Cup, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Asia organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It was held in the United Arab Emirates from 5 January to 1 ...
in the
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
.
In 2019 he and his family migrated from Iran to
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, and he was subsequently signed on by the
A-League
A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...
to the full time match official panel.
in 4 January 2023, The FIFA website published the list of international referees, assistant referees and video assistant referees for all countries of the world, and Alireza Faghani's name is seen in the list of international referees of Australia for 2023 as one of the 12 main referees of this country.
Matches
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...
FIFA Confederations Cup
The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships ( AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, ...
Summer Olympics
The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...
AFC Asian Cup
The AFC Asian Cup is the primary association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), determining the continental champion of Asia. It is the second oldest cont ...
FIFA Club World Cup
The FIFA Club World Cup is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The competition was first contested in 200 ...
Statistics
''Source:'' ''worldfootball.net''
Honours
*
Iranian Referee of the Year: 2011, 2015, 2017
*
Asian Referee of the Year: 2016, 2018
References
External links
Alireza Faghaniat RateTheRef.net
*
*
*
*
Alireza Faghani
{{DEFAULTSORT:Faghani, Alireza
Iranian football referees
Living people
1978 births
2018 FIFA World Cup referees
2022 FIFA World Cup referees
FIFA World Cup referees
People from Kashmar
Football referees at the 2016 Summer Olympics
AFC Asian Cup referees
A-League Men referees