Alireza Faghani Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
Alireza Faghani
Domestic
Faghani in 2025
Born	(1978-03-21) 21 March 1978 (age 47) Jabuz, Kashmar, Imperial Pahlavi State of Iran
Other occupation	Municipality employee
Years	League	Role
2000–2008	Azadegan League	Referee
2007–2022	Persian Gulf Pro League	Referee
2016–2017	Indonesian Super League	Referee
2019–	A-League Men	Referee
International
Years	League	Role
2008–	FIFA listed	Referee

Alireza Faghani (Persian: عليرضا فغانى; born March 21, 1978) is an Iranian-Australian football referee and a former player. He has been a top international referee for FIFA since 2008.

Faghani has refereed many important games. These include the 2014 AFC Champions League final, the 2015 AFC Asian Cup final, and the 2015 FIFA Club World Cup final. He also refereed the men's gold medal match at the 2016 Summer Olympics. He has been a referee at the 2018, 2022, and 2025 World Cups.

In September 2019, Faghani moved from Iran to Australia. He now referees in Australia's A-League Men. Since 2023, he has represented Australia in international tournaments.

Early Life and Playing Career
Refereeing Career
Memorable Matches
Statistics
Honours
See also

Early Life and Playing Career

Alireza Faghani was born on March 21, 1978, in Kashmar, Iran. His father, Mohammad Faghani, was also a football referee. His younger brother, Mohammadreza, is a referee in Sweden.

Before becoming a referee, Faghani played football. He was on the youth team of Bank Melli and played for other clubs like Shahab Khodro and Niroye Zamini. He played in Iran's League 2, which is the third level of Iranian football.

Refereeing Career

Faghani became a FIFA referee in 2008. This was just one year after he started refereeing in Iran's top league. He quickly began refereeing important international matches. In 2009, he was in charge of the AFC President's Cup Final.

He was chosen as the fourth official for the first match of the 2014 FIFA World Cup between Brazil and Croatia. He also refereed major finals like the 2015 AFC Asian Cup Final between South Korea and Australia.

Some of his other major games include:

The 2015 FIFA Club World Cup Final between Club Atlético River Plate and FC Barcelona.
The 2016 Olympic football final between Brazil and Germany.
The 2018 AFF Championship final between Vietnam and Malaysia.

Move to Australia

In 2019, Faghani and his family moved to Australia. He joined the A-League as a full-time referee. In 2023, he officially started representing Australia as a FIFA referee. This change was partly because he supported protests happening in Iran. As a result, the Iranian football organization removed him from its list of referees.

2023 AFC Asian Cup Controversy

During the 2023 AFC Asian Cup, Faghani refereed a match between Jordan and Iraq. He gave a second yellow card to Iraqi player Aymen Hussein for his goal celebration. This meant Hussein was sent off the field.

Hussein had copied a celebration the Jordanian players did earlier. Some people thought the yellow card was unfair, while others said it was for unsportsmanlike behavior. The Asian Football Confederation later said Faghani's decision was correct based on the rules. After the game, Faghani received a lot of abuse online. Football Australia released a statement saying they were supporting him.

2025 FIFA Club World Cup

In 2025, Faghani was chosen to referee at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup in the United States, representing Australia. He refereed the opening match of the tournament. After refereeing several other games, he was selected to be the referee for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup final.

Memorable Matches

Alireza Faghani gives a yellow card during the France vs. Argentina match at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Alireza Faghani refereeing the Serbia vs. Brazil match at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Faghani during the exciting France vs. Argentina match in 2018.

Alireza Faghani refereeing the Japan vs. Turkmenistan match at the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.

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

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

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

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

2013 FIFA Club World Cup – Morocco
Date	Match	Venue	Round
14 December 2013	Raja Casablanca 2–1 C.F. Monterrey (aet)	Agadir	Quarter-finals
21 December 2013	Guangzhou F.C. 2–3 Atlético Mineiro	Marrakesh	Third place match

2015 FIFA Club World Cup – Japan
Date	Match	Venue	Round
16 December 2015	Club América 2–1 TP Mazembe	Osaka	Match for fifth place
20 December 2015	River Plate 0–3 FC Barcelona	Yokohama	Final

2025 FIFA Club World Cup – United States
Date	Match	Venue	Round
14 June 2025	Al Ahly SC 0–0 Inter Miami CF	Miami	Group Stage
13 July 2025	Chelsea 3–0 Paris Saint-Germain	East Rutherford	Final

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

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, 2025	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
Indonesian Super League	I-League	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