Faghani takes charge of France-Argentina encounter

AFC – KAZAN, Alireza Faghani of the Islamic Republic of Iran was tasked with refereeing the 2018 FIFA World Cup Round of 16 tie between France and Argentina at the Kazan Arena in Kazan on Saturday.

The exciting tie between Les Blues and Lionel Messi’s South American side – which France won 4-3 – was Faghani’s third appointment in Russia 2018, after overseeing the Group E tie between Serbia and Brazil on June 27 and Group F match between Germany and Mexico on June 17.

The experienced Iranian is appearing in his second FIFA World Cup and was assisted by compatriots Reza Sokhandan and Mohammadreza Mansouri – who assisted Faghani in Mexico’s 1-0 win over Germany as well as Brazil’s 2-0 triumph over Serbia.