Iran’s most famous referee, Alireza Faghani, made headlines when he decided to move to Australia last year, instantly becoming one of the most respected whistleblowers in Australia’s A-League.
While Faghani is closer to the end of his career than the start, he is an inspiration for a new wave of Iranian referees, including one man with a very similar story.
Saeed Alipoor is an Iranian-native currently refereeing in Brisbane in Australia’s National Premier League, the second tier of the sport in the country below the A-League.
In this Q&A, he talks with Niloufar Momemi about his move to Australia, his refereeing idols and his dreams for the future
Q: Hi Saeed, it’s a pleasure talking to you. Would you tell us about yourself, and when did you move to Australia?
A: I came to Brisbane in 2015. It was through a student visa for my PhD in Chemical Engineering. At the same time, in 2015, I started applying to become a football referee. There is a training from the beginning, where all FIFA referees of all leagues, men and women, participate in this two-month training. I became a referee in Australia’s National Premiers league.
Q: Alireza Faghani , who is the most internationally recognised Iranian referee, is currently refereeing in Australia. Tell us about Alireza Faghani. Did you know in advance that he is moving to Australia?
A: I had met Alireza Faghani in person before the Asian Cup in 2015. Then we got connected and stayed in touch on Instagram. So I knew in advance, and before his announcement that he is coming to Australia. But of course I didn’t tell anyone else!
Q: What is the most valuable lesson or tip you learned from Faghani or any other mentor you had?
A: I’m a referee in Australia’s NPL, and Alireza Faghani whistles in the A-League. But we do have training together on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Currently, during the pandemic, we train individually. His vast knowledge is amazing. I ask him questions based on his video clips from FIFA games he has whistled.
One important tip he gave me is that a good referee should read the game well. Referees should anticipate if a fight or clash is brewing or not. And the referee shouldn’t be jogging during the game. Its important that the referee changes his own running speed based on the pace of the game.
(Photo: IG/saed.alipour)
Q: Just curious, how many Iranian referees are currently in Australia?
A: Alireza is in A-League, I am in the NPL. Then there are several Iranian referees in Aussie Futsal teams, which I noticed based on their names.
Q: What are your goals and ambitions in future?
A: Well, definitely to officiate as a (main) referee in A-League. The thing is though that there is a high competition with only a few referees and (many more) challenging to get promoted to the A-League. Currently, there are four (full-time) referees in the A-League. Out of those referees, three are Aussie, and one Iranian (Alireza Faghani). There are 11 teams in A-league. And 5 games per week to whistle
Q: For people interested in taking your path and becoming a referee, what is the process?
A: For those who want to become a Referee in Australia, this is the process. The process of it involved four steps in Australia;
- A 16-hour course: Consisting of topics such as “Laws of the Game”, followed by an exam. And it’s better to take this course in a refereeing department of the country, rather than College and University. Although College and Universities too offer this course. In Iran such training exists too, at “Referee Department” of provincial system “Heyat football ostan”. This course is taught by a FIFA instructor.
- Fitness test: Then in the second process, the candidate needs to pass fitness test.
- Assessment: Then in Referee Department, you get assessed based on your refereeing judgment. Your decisions are being analysed and evaluated. If you pass this evaluation, you’ll be certified as FIFA Referee.
- Knowledge Upgrade: Then on an ongoing basis, after two seasons of refereeing you get upgraded to keep your certificate.
Q: Reza Ghoochannejad (Gucci), Iranian National team player was also playing in FC Sydney. Did you guys ever meet?
A: Yes, Gucci was here in 2019 for six months, and they even won league Championship that season. I didn’t meet him in-person though. I think he didn’t have a good season here. He only scored one goal. And when he came to Brisbane for a game, I was not in Brisbane that day as I had a refereeing duty in another city. So we never actually ended up meeting in-person.
Q: Australia’s national team won the Asian Cup in 2015. What has Australia done well that has seen them have success? Is it the squad or good manager?
A: I think Australia had a great generation of players that year. Apart from hosting the tournament. After that generation, and ever since, their football level has diminished a bit at national level, I think. That’s why they tried to rejuvenate the national team and bring in young blood, but it hasn’t worked yet. For example, they invited Daniel Arzani, but he wasn’t successful and got injured a lot.
In terms of coaching, they have once again reverted back to Graham Arnold. Even though they had foreign coach for years. Also their captain (Mile Jedinak) is retiring, which would be a big loss for them I think.
(Photo: IG/saed.alipour)
Q: What do you do on your free time usually? Do you watch European/Aussie football games for fun? Because, I’ve interviewed professional football players like Vahid Hashemian and Alireza Jahanbakhsh before, and a lot of them, ironically, say in their free time they don’t like to watch football like we, football fans, do. They want to go shopping or meet their friends.
A: Well I work for the government of Australia now. Then there is coaching courses, and in my free time I get consumed with refereeing clips even on social media! As soon as I get online on social media, I see my friends have tagged me in video clips of football refereeing, and I have to evaluate that.
Q: What about football games? Do you watch football games outside of Australian football?
A: I usually watch refereeing video clips; I watch highlights of MLS games. I tried to watch World Cup games but it’s hard, because in our local time, the 2018 World Cup games was at 4am in the morning. And Asian Cup games (in 2019) was at 1am or 2am in the morning. Overall, live football games have bad timing in local time in Australia.
Q: Who do you rate as the best referee in the world right now?
A: I would definitely say Alireza Faghani is the best referee in the world right now. He deserved to whistle the final of the FIFA World Cup 2018 to be honest. Other referees whom I rate highly are (Björn) Kuipers, (Néstor) Pitana and (Felix) Brych.
I say Alireza Faghani because he is also highly respected and valued by Australian referees.When he first announced that he is coming to Australia, Aussie referees were excited and were asking me if the news is true! They would ask me “Is he really coming? Do you know him?” They respect him a lot here and referees highly regard his opinion here and think his refereeing opinion is better than others.
And Faghani has received positive feedback from spectators in the A-League. He is a very competent in referee, he has whistled for 20 years at the top level of football.
Q: And as the last question, what do referees do before an intense match like derby? What do you do the night before to be focused and relaxed?
A: We as referees, the night before the match, would make sure to have good nutrition and not a lot of excessive activity. We try to relax more, and then we’d be in touch with our assistant referees so we are aligned for the match.
And then on the day of the match, when we enter stadium about one hour before the match, any of the crew who has experience with a particular controversial player in that match, they’ll let us know.
For example, if one of our team knows a player who usually makes 15 fouls in a game, he’ll let us know and as main referee, during the match, when that player hits the three foul mark, I manage the game more to cool him down.
Main Photo: IG/saed.alipour
