Alireza Faghani

Alireza Faghani (; born 21 March 1978) is a soccer referee and former player who referees in the A-League Men, and in international tournaments as a Football Australia referee since 2023.

Faghani has been on the international referees list for FIFA since 2008, and has refereed important matches such as the 2014 AFC Champions League final, the 2015 AFC Asian Cup final, the 2015 FIFA Club World Cup final, the 2016 Summer Olympics football final match, and 2025 FIFA Club World Cup final.

He officiated in the Persian Gulf Pro League from 2007 to 2022, Liga 1 for one season in 2017, 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, 2018 FIFA World Cup, 2019 AFC Asian Cup, 2022 FIFA World Cup, 2023 AFC Asian Cup, AFC Champions League, AFC Champions League Two and AFC Challenge League and 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Faghani migrated from Iran to Australia in September 2019.

Early life Faghani was born on 21 March 1978 in Kashmar, a city near Mashhad in Iran. His nickname is Behrooz . His father, Mohammad Faghani was also a football referee. He has a younger brother named Mohammadreza, who referees in Australia.

Playing career

Faghani was part of the youth team of Bank Melli, and also played for Shahab Khodro, Etka, and Niroye Zamini. He also played in Iran's League 2, the third tier of Iranian football.

Refereeing career Faghani became a FIFA referee in 2008, only a year after officiating in the top flight league in Iran. 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 and Dordoi-Dynamo Naryn which was won 2–0 by the hosts. A year later he was again in charge of a final in the 2010 AFC Challenge Cup.

He was named as the fourth referee for the opening match of the 2014 FIFA World Cup between Brazil and Croatia. He also refereed the 2014 AFC Champions League Final first leg match between Al-Hilal and Western Sydney Wanderers. He was also one of the officials of the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, refereeing his first match in Group B between Saudi Arabia and China that ended 0–1.

Faghani refereed the 2009 Bangladesh Super Cup final between Dhaka Mohammedan and Dhaka Abahani on 27 March 2009.

He was appointed to referee the 2015 AFC Asian Cup Final, which was contested by South Korea and Australia. Faghani was the referee in the 2015 FIFA Club World Cup Final between Club Atlético River Plate and FC Barcelona. He was also the referee in the 2016 Indian Super League final between Kerala Blasters and ATK. Faghani reffed 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 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 in the United Arab Emirates.

In 2019, he and his family migrated from Iran to Australia, and he was subsequently signed on by the A-League to the full time match official panel. Since 2023, he is on the FIFA list of international referees from Australia.

In 2024, Faghani was selected to referee the 2023 AFC Asian Cup opener, representing Australia. During Jordan's 3–2 win over Iraq in the round of 16, Faghani controversially gave Iraqi striker Aymen Hussein a second yellow card for a goal celebration in the 76th minute, that mimicked an opposition celebration. After the game, a petition by Iraqi fans on change.org was made to call on Faghani's suspension, which accumulated over 800,000 signatures. The Asian Football Confederation issued a statement saying Faghani's decision was correct. Faghani received a torrent of social media abuse, leading to Football Australia issuing a statement saying that they are taking steps to protect and support their official.

On 14 April 2025, Faghani was named as a match official for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, representing Australia. Faghani and Australian assistant referees Anton Shchetinin and Ashley Beacham were selected to referee the opening match of the tournament at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. After refereeing two group stage matches and a quarter-final match during the tournament, Faghani was selected to referee the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup final. After the Club World Cup final, Iranian state media criticized and threatened Faghani after having censored the award ceremony, while Iranian dissidents praised Faghani for his conduct during the tournament and described his presence at such a high-profile event as a source of national pride.

In April 2026, Faghani was named as a referee for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, representing Australia.

Matches FIFA World Cup Alireza Faghani presents a yellow card during the France vs Argentina match in the round of 16 of 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Alireza Faghani refereeing the Serbia vs Brazil match in the group stage of 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Alireza Faghani refereeing the France vs Argentina match in the round of 16 of 2018 FIFA World Cup.

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

FIFA Confederations Cup 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup – Russia Date Match Venue Round 22 June 2017 1–1 Kazan Group stage 27 June 2017 0–0 Semi-finals

Summer Olympics 2016 Summer Olympics – Rio de Janeiro Date Match Venue Round 4 August 2016 2–2 Salvador Group stage 10 August 2016 0–4 20 August 2016 1–1 Rio de Janeiro Gold medal match

AFC Asian Cup

FIFA Club World Cup FIFA Intercontinental Cup 2024 FIFA Intercontinental Cup – Qatar Date Match Venue Round 14 December 2024 Al-Ahly 0–0 Pachuca Doha FIFA Challenger Cup

Statistics

Honours Iranian Referee of the Year: 2011, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 Asian Referee of the Year: 2016, 2018