Referee of the Tractor Sazi and Naft Match Suspended 'Until Further Notice'

The results of the fact-finding committee's investigation into the controversial match between Tractor Sazi Tabriz and Naft Tehran from the last week of the Iranian Premier League have been announced. According to the Ministry of Sports, Mahmoud Goudarzi has provided these results to President Hassan Rouhani, who requested follow-up on the matter and punishment for those responsible. The fact-finding committee was formed within the Football Federation and after several weeks of investigation, announced the disciplinary actions against individuals and officials related to the incidents of this controversial match to end speculation about the possibility of a rematch. The main disciplinary decision is the dismissal of the head of the refereeing department. However, the news of Hossein Asgari's dismissal was announced under the condition that he had already resigned from his position after the match. The 'suspension of the match referee until further notice' was also announced last week by Shahram Dabiri, a member of the federation's board, and is not new news. Given that club football in Iran is currently suspended, 'further notice' may refer to the first week of the new Premier League season. The league supervisor for this match has also been suspended, but the duration of this suspension has not been mentioned. A written warning and reprimand have been noted for the organizer of this match in the league organization. The same penalties will also be applied to the public relations officer of the league organization. In both cases, no specific reasons have been stated. The suspension of the announcer at the Yadegar Imam Stadium in Tabriz is also until 'further notice.' This is the first time such a suspension has occurred in Iranian football. A written warning to the Tabriz Football Association is another provision included in the disciplinary statement. Problems during the match, scoreboard malfunction, inadequate supervision of the stadium announcer, and incorrect information about the simultaneous match result have been cited as reasons for this warning. The committee has also recommended that Tractor Sazi consider suspensions and penalties for the media manager and assistant coach of the club. At the end of the letter, the authorities of the East Azerbaijan Security Council have been asked to ensure that 'we do not witness such incidents in the future!' Thus, it seems that the case of the most controversial match of the Iranian football season has been closed with the suspension of referee Alireza Faghani along with the stadium announcer.