Consequences of the Tabriz Incident: Head of the Refereeing Department Resigns

Hossein Asgari, the head of the refereeing department of the Iranian Football Federation, has resigned from his position. Widespread disagreements between the department and the referees' committee have been among the biggest controversies in Iranian football refereeing over the past year. The conflict between the department and the committee also affected the selection of the referee for the Tractor Sazi and Naft match. Hossein Asgari was present in Tabriz and watched the Tractor Sazi vs. Naft game up close. According to Fars News Agency, after the controversies began, he was recognized while trying to leave the stadium anonymously and was assaulted. The Football Federation issued a statement emphasizing the occurrence of "unintentional mistakes" in the Tractor Sazi vs. Naft match and reminded that the referee of this match was referred to the referees' committee to address the unintentional mistakes that occurred so that this committee could make its decisions regarding this matter. The Football Federation attributed the mistakes in refereeing to "lack of coordination over the past year between the committee and the refereeing department," which it claimed led to Hossein Asgari's resignation and the approval of the federation president. Meanwhile, throughout the season, the federation did not play an effective role in resolving the refereeing issue, and now that the season has ended, it admits to the lack of coordination between the committee and the department. Asgari's resignation does not mean the end of refereeing problems in Mr. Kafashian's federation, and the performance of the head of the referees' committee is also facing criticisms within the refereeing community. According to a clear announcement from the Inspection Organization and the Administrative Justice Court, simultaneous membership in the city council and national positions is prohibited, yet Fereydoun Esfahaniyan is a member of the Zanjan city council. Mr. Esfahaniyan is also a club manager in the second division league named Shahid Zanjan. According to Reza Ghiasy, the former head of the referees' committee, on the program 90, Mr. Esfahaniyan, while attending the matches of this team, went to the referees' locker room during halftime and met with them! Navid Mozaffari, an international referee, also mentioned on the same program that in a refereeing class abroad, Mr. Esfahaniyan read his report in Persian, which he had written in Finglish! This is considered cheating, especially in a sensitive area like refereeing, where individuals are symbols of justice and rule of law. The Minister of Sports has stated regarding the events in Tabriz that mistakes occurred in refereeing, and after investigations, it has been confirmed for us. We decided to impose necessary penalties on the offenders, and this process must be corrected for the future. It is obvious that a penalty should be considered for the events that have occurred. The Ministry of Sports' website quoted Mahmoud Goudarzi as saying: I have informed the federation that they must consider necessary actions as soon as possible. Penalties will definitely be imposed, and some individuals will also face harsher penalties.