Iranian Referee Alireza Faghani Commended

After whistling at the World Cup clash between Mexico and Germany on Sunday, Iranian referee Alireza Faghani achieved the rate of 4.74 out of five (the highest available ratio to rate a football referee) at the Ratetheref website.

The points come out to be quite surprising as Faghani made his debut as the center referee at the FIFA World Cup. It was also his second experience with the World Cup after attending 2014 edition in Brazil as the fourth official.

The rating is the highest mark achieved by a referee at the current tournament to the date. In the 36-person list of present whistlers at the cup, Faghani is the leading man.

It was much of a pressure when he blew the whistle over Toni Kroos’s hand foul while the German player claimed in an aggressive manner he was fouled before touching the ball. But with total authority and coverage over the incident, Faghani made the right decision.

Fox Sports commentator Brenton Speed pointed at Faghani’s performance as “outstanding” on his twitter account.

“Outstanding referee Faghani!” Said Speed in a tweet. “Does it for the fans: no soft free-kicks... no time-wasting... gives goalkeepers the hurry up. Keeps tempo as high as he can! This is reffing!”

Also the world’s leading referee education platform, The Ref Online, praised Faghani after the match.

“A very strong performance from Iranian official Faghani,” Ref Online wrote on its twitter feed. “He managed the game well and his recognition of careless and reckless was excellent!”

The Mexicans surprised the observers of the game edging the World Cup title holder 1-0 leaving Germany fans in total shock. Mexicans, jumping in jubilation, shook the ground in Mexico City so intense that triggered the earthquake sensors.

The Iranian referee has spent seven seasons at Persian Gulf Pro League. The 40-year-old whistler has much to decorate his career with including officiating final games of 2014 AFC Champions League, 2015 AFC Asian Cup, 2015 FIFA Club World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Football.