World Cup-class referee to officiate Vietnam-Indonesia match
Báo Tuổi Trẻ•23/03/2024
Asia's most famous referee Faghani Alireza will officiate the Vietnam - Indonesia match on March 26 at My Dinh Stadium.
Asia's most famous referee Faghani Alireza will officiate the Vietnam - Indonesia match - Photo: REUTERS
On the night of March 22, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) announced that referee Faghani Alireza - a dual citizen of Iran and Australia - will officiate the Vietnam - Indonesia match in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers on March 26 at My Dinh Stadium. Assisting Mr. Faghani Alireza are two assistant referees Larkrindis George, Gallagher Ryan Mark (both Australian citizens), and fourth referee Heidari Bijian (Iran). Mr. Faghani Alireza was born in 1978, he and his younger brother Mohammadreza Faghani followed the refereeing career of their father Mohammad Faghani. Mr. Faghani Alireza was recognized as a FIFA-level referee in 2008. Since then, he has gradually become one of the most prestigious referees in Asia, having officiated at many major tournaments such as the World Cup (2018, 2022), the 2016 Olympics, the Asian Cup, the Confederations Cup, and the FIFA Club World Cup. In September 2019, Faghani Alireza immigrated to Australia, continuing his career as a referee in the national championship. He is also famous on social media with more than 600,000 followers. According to statistics from Transfermarkt, referee Faghani Alireza has officiated a total of 453 matches, issued 1676 yellow cards, 43 red cards and blown 117 penalties.
Referee Faghani Alireza officiated the second leg of the 2018 AFF Cup final, where Vietnam won the championship after a 1-0 victory over Malaysia at My Dinh Stadium - Photo: HOANG TUNG
In the round of 16 of the 2023 Asian Cup, Mr. Faghani Alireza caused a fierce controversy when he sent off Iraq striker Aymen Hussein after he celebrated a goal by imitating his opponent in the 2-3 loss to Jordan. The Vietnamese team is no stranger to Mr. Faghani Alireza. It seems to be a lucky omen that in both matches with this Iranian referee, the Vietnamese team won. The first was the second leg of the 2018 AFF Cup final, when Vietnam won 1-0 against Malaysia at My Dinh Stadium. The most recent time in the round of 16 of the 2019 Asian Cup, Vietnam beat Jordan with a score of 5-3 after a penalty shootout. Meanwhile, Faghani Alireza has only refereed one match for the Indonesian team, which was a 0-2 loss to Malaysia in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers in Asia.
Ranking of Group F of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in Asia after the third round of matches - Graphics: AN BINH
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