Iran vs. Qatar - [Match Thread] | Asian Cup 2023 | Wednesday, February 7th |

[webmaster]

I see what you mean webbie jan. I guess I am more concerned over how this will play out strategically too.

Perhaps one like Saeed could argue that if the team knows referee’s language more than the other team, this could be an unfair advantage, instead of just saying he's Arab so he will be unfair 😂

This is very normal in the world. Even in Europe they do the same as an example in England vs France game, the referees cannot be from Wales, Scotland, Ireland basically English speaking nations or Monaco and Belgium and any other French speaking referees. Because they naturally have a feeling of brotherhood with people who speak their language and may be influenced by that during the game.

This is the norm but the AFC doesn't care about fairplay. They used a Chinese referee against Japan and now this, so it is natural that everyone would react to this.

[kordesi]

This is very normal in the world. Even in Europe they do the same as an example in England vs France game, the referees cannot be from Wales, Scotland, Ireland basically English speaking nations or Monaco and Belgium and any other French speaking referees. Because they naturally have a feeling of brotherhood with people who speak their language and may be influenced by that during the game.

This is the norm but the AFC doesn't care about fairplay. They used a Chinese referee against Japan and now this, so it is natural that everyone would react to this.

I thought our game against Japan ref was great.

[orbicular]

I can't believe Saeed said this, it's making international headlines: https://www.reuters.com/sports/socce...e%20tournament

We are shooting ourself in the foot with these comments. We don't need to amplify tensions. It's a bad look at best and at worst will antagonize the referee potentially even more. Referees hold grudges (see Ben Williams example when CQ criticized him against Bahrain in the 2015 Asian Cup and got fined, and then Williams got assigned again for the Iraq game and fucked us).

Referees hold immense power. They can screw our tournament and it won't really matter for anyone except us in the grand scheme of things. We have a lot more to lose with these foolish comments publicly

If the referee holds grudges, it shows that he is essentially biased. I can totally understand Saeed's concerns. Choosing a referee who is culturally and linguistically, not to mention geographically, close to one of the teams is just absurd. Would the federation have chosen a referee from Central Asia who happens to speak Farsi fluently? Why not hire European or South American officials, or even someone from Thailand, Vietnam or Hong Kong? If this guy is biased in favor of Qatar, he doesn't have to award them bogus penalties; he can simply influence the outcome of the match by issuing questionable yellow cards or even something worse, or by calling other types of fouls on Iran that can put it in a disadvantagous position.

Incidentally, Saeed has done the right thing by calling attention to this unusual action by the federation. If anything, it puts the referee in the spotlight, sending a clear message that his moves will be closely watched.

Let me ask this question: Would the selection of a referee from Guatemala to officiate a game between Mexico and France not have been frowned upon?

To win this game, our players need to maintain their clam and remain poised. They need to play hard but remain focused and level-headed. The official should not be provided with any excuse to win the game for the opponent. I hope the referee is impartial and unbiased, but our team has to be prepared for all eventualities.

[Hosseini]

Referees are human. They have subconscious bias. Making enemies could lead to subconscious bias. The referee also has Iranian roots. Should he be disqualified based on that? He could be planning to do a fair job for all we know and Saeed saying that can be disrespectful to him. 🤷🏻♂️

I don't really want to discuss this matter anymore. Let's just focus on the game and judge him based on how he performs. It's not in our control anyway.

If the referee holds grudges, it shows that he is essentially biased. I can totally understand Saeed's concerns. Choosing a referee who is culturally and linguistically, not to mention geographically, close to one of the teams is just absurd. Would the federation have chosen a referee from Central Asia who happens to speak Farsi? Why not hire European officials, or even someone from Thailand, Vietnam or Hong Kong? If this guy is biased in favor of Qatar, he doesn't have to award them bogus penalties; he can simply issue questionable yellow cards or even worse, or call other types of fouls on Iran that can put it in a disadvantagous position. Our players need to maintain their clam and remain poised. They need to play hard but remain focused and level-headed. The official should not be provided with any excuse to win the game for the opponent. I hope the referee is impartial and unbiased, but our team has to be prepared for all eventualities.

[Scooter]

If the referee holds grudges, it shows that he is essentially biased. I can totally understand Saeed's concerns. Choosing a referee who is culturally and linguistically, not to mention geographically, close to one of the teams is just absurd. Would the federation have chosen a referee from Central Asia who happens to speak Farsi fluently? Why not hire European or South American officials, or even someone from Thailand, Vietnam or Hong Kong? If this guy is biased in favor of Qatar, he doesn't have to award them bogus penalties; he can simply influence the outcome of the match by issuing questionable yellow cards or even something worse, or by calling other types of fouls on Iran that can put it in a disadvantagous position.

Incidentally, Saeed has done the right thing by calling attention to this unusual action by the federation. If anything, it puts the referee in the spotlight, sending a clear message that his moves will be closely watched.

Let me ask this question: Would the selection of a referee from Guatemala to officiate a game between Mexico and France not have been frowned upon?

To win this game, our players need to maintain their clam and remain poised. They need to play hard but remain focused and level-headed. The official should not be provided with any excuse to win the game for the opponent. I hope the referee is impartial and unbiased, but our team has to be prepared for all eventualities.

Agree with all those points.

However, I don't agree with Ezza speaking these concerns. It should have been GN, if anyone from TM.

[webmaster]

I thought our game against Japan ref was great.

Good for us but Bad for Japan. Get the point??

[Ostad_Goosfand]

I am confident. We have some hungry players and Taremi has been itching to get on the pitch. I expect him to be clinical tomorrow. I see a 2-0 or 3-0 win with Taremi MOTM.

[orbicular]

Referees are human. They have subconscious bias. Making enemies could lead to subconscious bias. The referee also has Iranian roots. Should he be disqualified based on that? He could be planning to do a fair job for all we know and Saeed saying that can be disrespectful to him. 🤷🏻♂️

I don't really want to discuss this matter anymore. Let's just focus on the game and judge him based on how he performs. It's not in our control anyway.

Let me just say one more thing: I do not question the qualifications of this referee or his level of moral integrity. However, I am questioning the federation's competence and its seriousness in making these types of selections. There has to be a criteria which makes biased decisions in a game of this magnitude less likely. And choosing an official who is culturally, linguistically and geographically as far away as possible from either team seems to be a step in the right direction, not least because of an important factor you have pointed out in your message: The subconscious bias.

[kordesi]

Good for us but Bad for Japan. Get the point??

Not really. Thought he was really balanced and let the game flow. The bottom line really is that we should not allow any bad decisions get under our skins and be professional and get the win. I am actually starting to brick it and we still hours away!

[Damavand]

Our players are ready. Our nation is ready. The whole world is ready.

It’s time to finally brake this DREADED 48 year CURSE and advance to the final.

GO TEAM MELLI !!!!

[shayan_esteghlali]

I think Ezzat did good saying what he said, this asian cup has a lot of foreign media attention, it will put the AFC and the ref. in the spotlight for this match, the world will be watching.

[Kavian]

Folks

Let's put all these distractions (referee, afc, spectators, persian gulf, etc.) aside. These are meant to play psychy with the minds of our players and fans.

Let's focus on the game.

The truth is Qatar has not shown anything special in this tournament so far. Their toughest match was against Uzbekistan and they were lucky to have won that game on penalties.

Iran on the other hand, is much more of a complete team and can beat Qatar with a good display of football today.

Absoultly no need for stress, the usual Iranian fear or prayers to lord, mamad or hossien. It is a job that needs to get done and it will get done, period.

Bring some good positive vibes here with your posts.

I am confident of Iran victory today.

GO IRAN GO

[shayan_esteghlali]

iiin Iran e man e
doosesh daram kheyli ziaad
Ghahremani behesh miaad

[taha]

From what i hear 90%+ of the ticket allocation today will be to the basiji lot with their matching tees and caps. Great!

[zereshk-ali]

Folks

Let's put all these distractions (referee, afc, spectators, persian gulf, etc.) aside. These are meant to play psychy with the minds of our players and fans.

Let's focus on the game.

The truth is Qatar has not shown anything special in this tournament so far. Their toughest match was against Uzbekistan and they were lucky to have won that game on penalties.

Iran on the other hand, is much more of a complete team and can beat Qatar with a good display of football today.

Absoultly no need for stress, the usual Iranian fear or prayers to lord, mamad or hossien. It is a job that needs to get done and it will get done, period.

Bring some good positive vibes here with your posts.

I am confident of Iran victory today.

GO IRAN GO

Totally agree.

The constant chat about AFC unfairness and referees concerns me, particularly GN’s comments.

He clearly has to tread a fine line psychologically. On the one hand it’s the oldest trick in the book - suggest the referee will not be fair beforehand to try and sway any potential bias back our way. What I fear though is subconsciously it provides an excuse for the players for not getting the job done. I hope there’s a very different message being delivered internally in the camp with the intensity combined with disciplinary focus from the Japan game the blueprint.