In the Book: Who is Iranian referee Alireza Faghani and how many World Cup’s has he officiated at?

The Sun – LONDON, Vastly experienced Iranian has taken charge of a number of high-profile AFC finals and is on the way to Russia

REFEREEING on the biggest stage requires experience and firmness – and Alireza Faghani has them both.

The Iranian whistler has been chosen as one of the 36 officials for this summer’s World Cup in Russia and has bags of big-game know-how on his side.

Here’s all you need to know about the ref from Iran.
Who is Alireza Faghani?
THE son of a referee, Faghani spent seven seasons in the Persian Gulf Pro League before making the jump to internationals.

Originally a player in the lower Iranian leagues, he became a ref and joined the Fifa-elite list just one year after making his top-flight debut.

With VAR in play this summer, you may remember Faghani from the Confed Cup where he failed to give Chile a penalty and refused to view the TV monitor.

In his career the Iranian has been in charge for the finals of the 2014 AFC Champions League, 2015 AFC Asian Cup, 2015 Club World Cup and the 2016 Olympics.

Faghani is also registerd in the Indonesian League and takes charge of domestic games in the top-flight.

Expect to see plenty of cards in the games that the Iranian takes charge of in Russia – he dishes out an average of 4.40 per match.

Has he officiated at the World Cup before?
FAGHANI was at the 2014 World Cup – but was named as a fourth official for the opener between Brazil and Croatia.

He’s also been on the big stage at the Olympics and numerous AFC Cup finals around the continent.