In an interview with ISNA, Alireza Faghani responded to the statements claiming that he was not initially removed by Iran from the 2021 FIFA List and such an issue has never existed. "It was announced on the TV and clearly stated that this has happened, but it was not only said by them, so how can they now deny such a case? They lied in this regard and, unfortunately, honesty is the missing link in the management of these people. Today, we are in the world of communication, and when there is such a rumour that, for example, Alireza Faghani has been removed from the list of international referees, why did they not react at the time to inform the public? They never thought that such a strong reaction to their decision to remove my name would ever happen", said Faghani, adding they thought they will achieve their goals once the FIFA deadline expired.
"Finally, the officials of the Iranian Football Federation held a meeting with the Referees Committee and requested that Alireza Faghani be returned to Iran's list of international referees, so they were forced to change their initial vote. Even after this incident, they sought to justify themselves and recently we saw that they have denied their own and their team's actions, saying that some people have lied in this regard, but I believe the statements made at the time, not this lie." Faghani stated that he has been out of Iran for about two years, but some people are still looking for such issues and fringes: "I consider these issues to be due to jealousy and short-sightedness, and such issues have never been important to me and are not. My focus is on work, whether my name is on the list of the Iranian international referees or not; I continue to work hard."
Pointing out that some people claim that the biggest refereeing achievements happened during their time in leadership positions, Faghani said: "I personally did not become an international referee during this management time. If they meant that they have preserved my name on the FIFA List, I can only say that we should thank God that, despite their poor management, I was able to survive on the list of international referees and I did not play with their jealousies. The person who was in charge of the refereeing department in the federation did not even contact our refereeing team in any tournament and in only one case, when this happened, he talked to Mansouri for a few minutes, but that happened due to his presence in the federation's board. Nothing has happened except keeping our name on the FIFA List in Iran due to the strong reactions. What we have achieved has been due to the ability, teamwork and recommendations of the country's refereeing veterans and, to the extent I remember, these people have always been on our nerves. They were helpless for us except the war of nerves and, if it were not for our efforts and self-confidence, they would have stopped our progress."
Regarding the recent changes, Faghani said: "First of all, I must say that Ali Asghar Momeni, who has acted as fourth referee in several Premier League matches, entered the list of international referees by mischief. Momeni is a good person, but I wonder whether he is such a great referee to replace Faghani last year, with eight referees in the Premier League and a clear record? Unfortunately, after failing to achieve their goals by removing my name from the 2021 FIFA List, they sacrificed a young referee named Amir Arabbaraghi, who could represent the future of Iranian refereeing". Faghani continued: "I have another question to the leadership: you have been working hard for seven or eight years, as you say, but when it is time for retirement, why you do not allow another person to come to work and serve in your place? Of course, it is very difficult to get bored of provincial trips, teaching and supervision classes, discussing gifts, as well as this kind of interaction". Regarding the announcement of Ali Karimi's readiness to run for the presidency of the Football Federation, Faghani said: "He is one of the most respected figures in our society and sports, and showing courage and bravery, he stepped in this heavy atmosphere of the Football Federation. Let him be appreciated! The criterion of action is the honour of human beings and it does not matter who is born in what place. Certainly, very honourable human beings have come from behind the so-called 'mountains' and have been able to perform a good job; perhaps the person who comes from behind the 'mountain' will understand the concept of humanity and honour more and better than others. I hope that good things will happen and people will come to work to resolve the situation of Iranian football and we will no longer see such issues in refereeing or problems related to national teams."
Questioned about his absence from the 2020 Club World Cup, Faghani explained: "These competitions are held every year and, considering that the number of matches is small, a refereeing team is selected from each continent. I have already participated in this competition 3 times, in 2012, 2013 and 2015, when I refereed the final match between Barcelona and River Plate. The other Asian referees have the right to participate in this competition as well."
Source: ISNA
