‘Moradi refereeing tradition’ lives on

Danial Moradi

AFC – Kuala Lumpur, Young Iranian referee Danial Moradi aims to continue the ‘Moradi refereeing tradition’ in his family after learning a few years ago that he had blood relation to the famous retired FIFA and AFC Elite Referee Masoud Moradi.

The 22-year-old came to know that he was related to Masoud when he attended a course a few years ago in Iran instructed by the senior Moradi after which both agreed that there should be a continuation of the refereeing tradition in the ‘big Moradi family’.

Danial shared the previously unknown Moradi refereeing history with the-afc.com:

“All these years people always asked me if I was related to Masoud, the famous referee in Iran, and I’d say ‘No’, until I met him in his class a few years ago and he asked for my name and I told him ‘Danial Moradi’ and he replied ‘Maybe we are related!’”.

“We began talking and finally we landed at the discovery that we were indeed related through our fathers. It was a very far relation, but I think we are much closer than that now that we know there are two Moradis in refereeing.

“Moradi doesn’t have a son. But If I have a son, I’d surely want him to be a referee like us and continue the tradition in our big Moradi family,” said the Iranian Class-1 Referee.

The Payam Noor University’s industries engineering bachelor degree student is one of 20 young referees taking part in a Selection Course in Kuala Lumpur from 3 to 8 November for Batch 2011 of Project Future Referees, AFC’s two-year referee grooming project.

Masoud, 46, retired from refereeing duty last year and is now an AFC Elite Refereeing Instructor.

Danial feels his tireless effort has paid off when he got chosen to undergo selection for the highly coveted PF training programme and has vowed to work hard to pass it and join Batch 2011.

“I have been training and learning hard to improve my fitness and mastery of the laws of the game apart from refereeing in the Third Division. I also worked hard in the AFC Festival of Football for boys this year after which I got selected for the PF selection.

“I will continue the hard work to ace this selection test,” he promised himself.