News / Sports

Iranian referee, linesmen receive AFC Referees Special Award 2016

Monday, 21 November 2016 10:47 AM [ Last Update: Monday, 21 November 2016 10:50 AM ]

From left to right: Mohammad Reza Mansouri, Reza Sokhandan, Alireza Faghani, Kate Jacewicz, Renae Coghill and Uvena Fernandes

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has decorated Iranian referee Alireza Faghani together with 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 Sunday.

Australians Kate Jacewicz and Renae Coghill as well as India’s Uvena Fernandes took the honors as Asia’s best female soccer referees.

“The AFC’s Vision and Mission has underlined our desire to ensure Asian players and officials succeed on the world stage. The performances of our men and women referees this year demonstrate once again our continent as a great force in world football and that our referees – both men and women – have earned global respect,” AFC President Sheikh Salman Bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa said.

He added, “Their achievements serve as a testament to the progressive steps Asian football continues to undertake under the banner of One Asia, One Goal and I am confident that they will continue to do us proud in the years ahead.”

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.

The Football Federation of the Islamic Republic of Iran and Iran’s Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs have congratulated the Iranian referee and linesmen on the achievements in separate messages.

The national Iranian men's futsal team (file photo)

Meanwhile, Iranian futsal players Aliasghar Hasanzadeh, Ahmad Esmaeilpour and Farhad Tavakoli have been shortlisted for the AFC Futsal Player of the Year title.

The three sportsmen featured outstanding performances during the 2016 FIFA Futsal World Cup in Colombia, where the national Iranian men’s futsal team defeated Portugal 4-3 in penalty shootout, claiming the third place for its best finish in a quadrennial international futsal championship.

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