After the removal of Mahnaz Zekayi from officiating the derby, the name of Mahsa Ghorbani, who was supposed to be present in the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) room, has also been canceled. The Football Federation of the Islamic Republic has not yet announced the reason for this decision. According to previous reports, Mahsa Ghorbani was to be one of the referees in the VAR room for the 103rd Tehran derby, but according to reports from government news agencies in Iran, the Football Federation announced on Wednesday, March 23, just hours before the match, that the presence of this female referee was 'canceled.' The capital's derby started at 8 PM on Wednesday with referee Vahid Kazemi and assistant referees Saeed Ghasemi and Hassan Entezari at Azadi Stadium in Tehran, and by the time this news was prepared, the first half of the match had ended in a scoreless draw. The fourth referee for this sporting event is Payam Heydari, and Moayed Bonyadifar and Saadollah Golmoradi from Tajikistan are present as VAR assistants in the VAR room. Hamid Jabari, a sports analyst, wrote on X addressing the responsible authorities that after sidelining 'Mahnaz Zekayi on the accusation of being a Persepolis supporter,' now you have also 'set aside Mahsa Ghorbani to make the assembly completely male to your liking.' Mahsa Ghorbani, born in 1989 in Tehran, is a master's degree holder in sports marketing management and a referee for the Iranian Women's Premier League matches. Ghorbani has also been a FIFA international referee since 2017 and has previously officiated men's matches as the first female Iranian football referee. Before Mahsa Ghorbani, Mahnaz Zekayi was supposed to be a referee in the VAR room, but she was removed from the list due to what was said to be the publication of a photo of her in the stands supporting Persepolis during the AFC Champions League final match between Persepolis and Kashima. The Football Federation claimed that it removed Zekayi's name from the list of referees for this match to prevent 'any suspicion,' but now the name of the second female referee who was supposed to be present at the derby on Wednesday has also been removed just hours before the match.
Second Female Referee Excluded from Derby; Football Federation Did Not Announce Reason for Mahsa Ghorbani's Removal
Mahsa Ghorbani, a female referee scheduled to officiate in the VAR room for the Tehran derby, was removed from the list just hours before the match, following the earlier exclusion of Mahnaz Zekayi. The Football Federation has not provided a reason for these decisions, raising concerns about gender discrimination in sports officiating.
👥 Key Players
📰 What Happened
Mahsa Ghorbani was removed from officiating in the VAR room for the Tehran derby just hours before the match, following the earlier exclusion of another female referee, Mahnaz Zekayi. The Football Federation has not provided a reason for these removals, raising concerns about gender discrimination in sports officiating.
- Both Ghorbani and Zekayi are notable female referees in a male-dominated field.
- The Football Federation's lack of transparency regarding their removals has sparked criticism.
💡 Why It Matters
📚 Background
Women's participation in sports, especially in officiating roles, has been a contentious issue in Iran, reflecting broader gender inequality in society.
🏷️ Entities Mentioned
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