Alireza Faghani facts for kids
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Faghani refereeing Germany vs. Mexico in 2018 World Cup
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| Born | 21 March 1978 Kashmar, Iran |
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|---|---|---|---|
| Other occupation | Municipality employee | ||
| Domestic | |||
| Years | League | Role | |
| 2000–2008 | Azadegan League | Referee | |
| 2007–2022 | Persian Gulf Pro League | Referee | |
| 2019– | A-League Men | Referee | |
| International | |||
| Years | League | Role | |
| 2008– | FIFA listed | Referee | |
Alireza Faghani (Persian: عليرضا فغانى; born 21 March 1978) is a famous football referee. He was born in Iran and is now an Australian citizen. He has been a top international referee for FIFA since 2008.
Faghani has refereed many important football matches around the world. These include big games like the 2015 AFC Asian Cup final and the 2016 Olympic football final. He has also been a referee at the 2018 FIFA World Cup and the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
In 2019, Faghani moved to Australia. Now, he referees matches in the A-League Men, which is Australia's top football league. Since 2023, he has been an Australian referee in international tournaments.
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Who is Alireza Faghani?
Alireza Faghani was born on March 21, 1978, in a city called Kashmar in Iran. His nickname is Behrooz. Football refereeing runs in his family! His father, Mohammad Faghani, was also a football referee. Alireza's younger brother, Mohammadreza, is also a referee in Sweden.
Did Alireza Faghani play football?
Yes, before becoming a referee, Faghani played football himself. He was part of youth teams like Bank Melli. He also played for other teams such as Shahab Khodro and Etka. He even played in Iran's third-tier football league.
Alireza Faghani's Refereeing Journey
Faghani became a referee for FIFA in 2008. This was only a year after he started refereeing in Iran's top league. Just one year later, he was in charge of the 2009 AFC President's Cup Final. He also refereed the final of the 2010 AFC Challenge Cup.
He was chosen as the fourth referee for the opening match of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. He also refereed the first game of the 2014 AFC Champions League Final. Faghani was one of the referees at the 2015 AFC Asian Cup. He refereed the final match between South Korea and Australia.
Faghani also refereed the 2015 FIFA Club World Cup Final. This was a huge match between Club Atlético River Plate and FC Barcelona. In 2016, he was the referee for the Olympic football final between host Brazil and Germany.
He was selected to be a referee for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. After the first part of the tournament, he was one of the referees chosen to stay for the rest of the matches.
In 2019, Alireza Faghani and his family moved from Iran to Australia. He then joined the full-time referee team for the A-League. Since 2023, he has been on FIFA's list of international referees representing Australia. This change happened because he supported important events in Iran, which led to him no longer being an Iranian referee.
In 2024, Faghani was chosen to referee the opening match of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup, representing Australia. During a match between Jordan and Iraq, he gave an Iraqi player a second yellow card for celebrating a goal. This decision caused some fans to be upset. However, the Asian Football Confederation later confirmed that Faghani's decision was correct. Football Australia also supported him during this time.
Major Matches Refereed
Alireza Faghani has refereed many important matches in major tournaments. Here are some of them:
FIFA World Cup Matches
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| 2018 FIFA World Cup – Russia | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Match | Venue | Round |
| 17 June 2018 |  Germany 0–1  Mexico |
Moscow | Group stage |
| 27 June 2018 |  Serbia 0–2  Brazil |
Moscow | Group stage |
| 30 June 2018 |  France 4–3  Argentina |
Kazan | Round of 16 |
| 14 July 2018 |  Belgium 2–0  England |
Saint Petersburg | Third place play-off |
| 2022 FIFA World Cup – Qatar | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Match | Venue | Round |
| 24 November 2022 | Brazil 2–0 Serbia |
Lusail | Group stage |
| 28 November 2022 |  Portugal 2–0  Uruguay |
Lusail | Group stage |
FIFA Confederations Cup Matches
| 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup – Russia | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Match | Venue | Round |
| 22 June 2017 | Germany 1–1  Chile |
Kazan | Group stage |
| 27 June 2017 | Portugal 0–0 Chile (0–3 p) |
Kazan | Semi-finals |
Summer Olympics Matches
| 2016 Summer Olympics – Rio de Janeiro | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Match | Venue | Round |
| 4 August 2016 | Mexico 2–2 Germany |
Salvador | Group stage |
| 10 August 2016 |  Denmark 0–4 Brazil |
Salvador | Group stage |
| 20 August 2016 | Brazil 1–1 Germany (5–4 p) |
Rio de Janeiro | Gold medal match |
AFC Asian Cup Matches
| 2015 AFC Asian Cup – Australia | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Match | Venue | Round |
| 10 January 2015 |  Saudi Arabia 0–1  China |
Brisbane | Group stage |
| 13 January 2015 |  Kuwait 0–1  South Korea |
Canberra | Group stage |
| 16 January 2015 |  Iraq 0–1  Japan |
Brisbane | Group stage |
| 23 January 2015 | Japan 1–1  United Arab Emirates(4–5 p) |
Sydney | Quarter-finals |
| 31 January 2015 | South Korea 1–2 (aet)  Australia |
Sydney | Final |
| 2019 AFC Asian Cup – United Arab Emirates | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Match | Venue | Round |
| 9 January 2019 | Japan 3–2  Turkmenistan |
Abu Dhabi | Group stage |
| 20 January 2019 |  Jordan 1–1  Vietnam(2–4 p) |
Dubai | Round of 16 |
| 2023 AFC Asian Cup – Qatar | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Match | Venue | Round |
| 12 January 2024 |  Qatar 3–0  Lebanon |
Lusail | Group stage |
| 29 January 2024 | Iraq 2–3 Jordan |
Doha | Round of 16 |
FIFA Club World Cup Matches
| 2013 FIFA Club World Cup – Morocco | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Match | Venue | Round |
| 14 December 2013 | Raja Casablanca  2–1 (aet) Monterrey |
Agadir | Quarter-finals |
| 21 December 2013 | Guangzhou Evergrande 2–3 Atlético Mineiro |
Marrakesh | Third place match |
| 2015 FIFA Club World Cup – Japan | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Match | Venue | Round |
| 16 December 2015 | América 2–1  TP Mazembe |
Osaka | Match for fifth place |
| 20 December 2015 | River Plate 0–3  Barcelona |
Yokohama | Final |
FIFA Intercontinental Cup Matches
| 2024 FIFA Intercontinental Cup – Qatar | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Match | Venue | Round |
| 14 December 2024 | Al-Ahly  0-0 (5–6 p) C.F. Pachuca |
Doha | FIFA Challenger Cup |
Refereeing Achievements
Alireza Faghani has received several awards for his excellent refereeing:
- Iranian Referee of the Year: 2011, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018
- Asian Referee of the Year: 2016, 2018
Statistics
| Tournaments | Contester | Years | Matches |  |
Average |
 |
Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FIFA World Cup | FIFA | 2018, 2022 | 6 | 26 | 4.50 | 0 | 0.00 |
| FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC) | FIFA | 2011– | 13 | 45 | 3.46 | 0 | 0.00 |
| FIFA Confederations Cup | FIFA | 2017 | 2 | 11 | 5.50 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Summer Olympics | IOC–FIFA | 2016 | 3 | 9 | 3.00 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Friendlies | FIFA | 2014– | 11 | 38 | 3.45 | 2 | 0.18 |
| AFC Asian Cup | AFC | 2015, 2019, 2023 | 9 | 35 | 3.89 | 2 | 0.22 |
| AFC Asian Cup qualification | AFC | 2015 | 2 | 6 | 3.00 | 0 | 0.00 |
| FIFA U-20 World Cup | FIFA | 2013 | 2 | 6 | 3.00 | 0 | 0.00 |
| FIFA Club World Cup | FIFA | 2012, 2013, 2015 | 4 | 18 | 4.50 | 1 | 0.06 |
| AFC Champions League | AFC | 2010–2018 | 64 | 255 | 3.98 | 8 | 0.13 |
| AFC Champions League qualification | AFC | 2011 | 1 | 3 | 3.00 | 0 | 0.00 |
 Indian Super League |
AIFF |
2016 | 1 | 3 | 3.00 | 0 | 0.00 |
 Liga 1 |
PSSI |
2017 | 6 | 14 | 2.33 | 1 | 0.17 |
 Persian Gulf Pro League |
FFIRI |
2007–? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| Hazfi Cup |
FFIRI |
2015–2016 | 1 | 7 | 7.00 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Azadegan League |
FFIRI |
2000–2008 | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| A-League Men |
FA |
2019– | 87 | 335 | 3.85 | 10 | 8.7 |
| Totals | 2007– | 212+ | 831+ | 3.92 | 24+ | 0.11 | |
| Matches as referee are correct as of 30 January 2024 | |||||||
See Also
In Spanish: Alireza Faghani para niños
