Alireza Faghani wins PGPL Golden Whistle

PressTV – TEHRAN, Iranian football referee Alireza Faghani has received the Golden Whistle prize for laudably performing official duties during the 16th edition of the Persian Gulf Pro League, formerly known as Iran Pro League (IPL).

The 39-year-old referee was decorated with the award during a ceremony held in Olympic Hotel in western Tehran on Saturday evening.

President of the Football Federation of the Islamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI) Mehdi Taj, General Secretary of the FFIRI Mohammad Reza Saket, Vice President of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Ali Kafashian plus a number of Iranian soccer referees, coaches and veterans were also in attendance.

Faghani has been officiating in Persian Gulf Pro League for seven seasons and has been on the international list since 2008.

He attended the Referee Seminar for 2018 FIFA World Cup, which ran between April 3 and 7 in the central Italian city of Florence. A total of 53 referees from across the world took part in the five-day seminar.

Last November, the AFC decorated Faghani together with Iranian linesmen Reza Sokhandan and Mohammad Reza Mansouri with the AFC Referees Special Award 2016.

The trio received their award from the AFC Referees Committee Vice Chairman, Hany Taleb Ballan Safar, during the opening ceremony of the AFC Elite Referees and Assistant Referees Seminar in the Malaysian capital city of Kuala Lumpur on November 20, 2016.

The men’s trio from the Islamic Republic of Iran officiated the final soccer match of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on August 21.

The hosts beat Germany 5-4 on penalties to win their first men’s Olympic football gold medal.