Tag: Reza Sokhandan

Ali Asghar Hasanzadeh wins AFC futsal player of the year 2018

Iran’s status as a global force in world futsal was further underlined after Ali Asghar Hasanzadeh, who was part of the IR Iran side which finished third in the 2016 FIFA Futsal World Cup, landed his fourth AFC Futsal Player of the Year accolade.

 

World Cup referee  Alireza Faghani also received  the AFC Referees Special Award for his outstanding refereeing in the World Cup. Also , his two assistances in Russia , Reza Sokhandan  and Mohammadreza Mansouri  where honored

After another year of remarkable progress for Asian football, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) celebrated the Continent’s most exceptional achievements in a dazzling AFC Annual Awards 2018 ceremony tonight in Muscat, Oman.

Al Sadd’s Abdelkarim Hassan claimed the coveted AFC Player of the Year Award while China PR’s Wang Shuang clinched the top accolade in the women’s category.

AFC President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa said: “We celebrate and applaud all our winners tonight who have work tirelessly to raise the bar each year. Asian football continues to attain world-class achievements, and this is a testament to our players, teams and Member Associations.

“We congratulate them all and all those nominated, and we thank our host the Oman Football Association and the Omani government for staging a truly memorable celebration in this wonderful city of Muscat.”

Kashima Antlers’ Go Oiwa who guided his side to their maiden AFC Champions League title earlier this month was duly rewarded with the 2018 AFC Men’s Coach of the Year award, while AFC Women’s Asian Cup Jordan 2018 winning coach Asako Takakura confirmed her legendary status in women’s football with her sixth AFC Women’s Coach of the Year award.

Former AFC Acting President Zhang Jilong was bestowed with the Continent’s highest accolade – the AFC Diamond of Asia Award – in recognition for his incredible service and leadership over the last four decades to Chinese and Asian football.

The winners of the AFC Annual Awards 2018 are:

AFC Diamond of Asia: Zhang Jilong (CHI)

AFC President’s Special Recognition Award:
• Futoshi Ikeda (JPN)
• Wild Boars F.C. (THA)
AFC Member Association of the Year:
• Inspiring: Japan Football Association
• Developing: DPR Korea Football Association
• Aspiring: Mongolian Football Federation
AFC President Recognition Award for Grassroots Football:
• Inspiring Member Association: Chinese Football Association
• Developing Member Association: Football Association of Singapore
• Aspiring Member Association: Palestine Football Association
AFC Futsal Player of the Year: Ali Asghar Hasanzadeh (IRN)

AFC Coach of the Year:
• Women: Asako Takakura (JPN)
• Men: Go Oiwa (JPN)
AFC Women’s Player of the Year: Wang Shuang (CHI)
AFC Player of the Year: Abdelkarim Hassan (QAT)

Awards not presented in Muscat:

AFC Referees Special Award:
Alireza Faghani (IRN)
Reza Sokhandan (IRN)
Mohammadreza Mansouri (IRN)

AFC Youth Player of the Year:
• Women: Saori Takarada (JPN)
• Men: Turki Al Amar (KSA)
AFC Asian International Player of the Year: Makoto Hasebe (Eintracht Frankfurt and JPN)

Ali Asghar Hasanzadeh wins AFC FUTSAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR 2016:

Team Mell’s Ali Asghar Hasanzadeh won the AFC Player of the year 2016 award beating his compatriots Ahamd Esmaeilpour and Farhad Tavakoli for Asia’s best futsal player title. Meanwhile , Iran’s football federation FFIRI boycotted the AFC Annual Awards ceremony in protest against several issues by AFC including the bias of AFC towards Saudi Arabia , discrimination against Iran and finally the lack of recognition of Team Melli players.

Mehdi Taj and Alireza Asadi plus the PR manager of the FFIRI were on the invited list but never made the trip to Abu Dhabi. Despite the fact that Iran has been the best Asian Team for the past 23 months running , no Iranian players were included in the shortlist of candidates. Abu Dhabi, out of all the 7 UAE emirates, has also been quitw hostile towards Iran and fighting against the Al Houthi clan in Yemen .

In the ceremony held in Abu Dhabi, Iranian referees won recognition as  Alireza Faghani, Reza Sokhandan and 
Mohammad Reza Mansouri were awarded AFC Referees Special Award 2016

 

 

AFC Futsal Player of the Year Nominees

  • Aliasghar Hasanzadeh (IR Iran)
  • Ahmad Esmaeilpour (IR Iran)
  • Farhad Tavakoli (IR Iran)

 

AFC Referees Special Award
Men
Alireza Faghani (IR Iran)
Reza Sokhandan (IR Iran)
Mohammad Reza Mansouri (IR Iran)

Futsal Team Melli players rule the annual AFC awards

All the nominee of AFC Futsal player of the year are Team Melli members according to the list published by AFC. In yet another unusual move, the Asian football ruling body has published a second list weeks after publishing what was thought to be the annual awards final list. Apparently there was two parts.

After a great year for Iran’s Futsal team , the three nominations is hardly a surprise with Iran winning the 3rd place in the FIFA Futsal World Cup 2016 recently held in Colombia. This is the highest ever futsal achievement in Asian futsal history.

The nominees are: 
AFC FUTSAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR

  1. Ahmad Esmaeilpour (IR Iran)
  2. Aliasghar Hasanzadeh (IR Iran)                        
  3. Farhad Tavakoli (IR Iran)
FARHAD TAVAKOLI - Iran Futsal Team
FARHAD TAVAKOLI – Iran Futsal Team

Iranians referees were also  honoured after a landmark year for Asian referees
 

Asian referees have set a new benchmark for excellence in 2016, gracing some of the world’s biggest stages. In recognition for their outstanding performances, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) today awarded six match officials – three men and women – with the AFC Referees Special Award 2016 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
 
The men’s trio from the Islamic Republic of Iran – Alireza Faghani, assistant referees Reza Sokhandan, Mohammad Reza Mansouri – and the women’s team comprising Australians Kate Jacewicz, Renae Coghill and India’s Uvena Fernandes received their awards from the AFC Referees Committee Vice-Chairman, Hany Taleb Ballan Safar (Qatar) at the opening of the AFC Elite Referees and Assistant Referees Seminar taking place in the Malaysian capital.
 Alireza Faghani 3 IRN
AFC President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa said: “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
 
“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.”
 
Faghani, Sokhandan and Mansouri made history this year as Asia’s first trio to officiate the final of the Men’s Olympic Football Tournament when they took charge of the Brazil versus Germany gold medal match in August in Rio de Janeiro.
 
During the hugely successful AFC Asian Cup 2015 Australia, Faghani and Sokhandan were appointed to officiate the final match between Korea Republic and host nation Australia. The men’s trio also officiated the 2015 FIFA Club World Cup final in Tokyo, which saw Barcelona take on Argentina’s River Plate.
Ali Asghar Hassanzadeh
Ali Asghar Hassanzadeh

 

Alireza Faghani to referee the Olympics Final

Alireza Faghani Iran’s and Asia’s top referee has been handed over the task of refereeing the Gold Medal final match in Rio’s Olympics 2016. 

Faghani , who has already refereed the Asian Cup 2015 was also selected as part of the refereeing team in the FIFA World Cup 2014 in Brazil.

The referring team for the final match between host Brazil and Germany will also include assistant referees Reza Sokhandan and Mansouri .  The match venue on Saturday 20th August will be the great Maracana stadium expected to be sell out. The sensitivity of the match is amplified by the fact that Germany has hammered and humiliated host Brazil two years ago in the same place during the FIFA World Cup 2014

All eyes will be on the Maracana, as Brazil are 90 minutes away from winning a first-ever gold medal in the Men’s Olympic Football Tournament. As if an Olympic gold medal match needed another layer of intrigue, the hosts will have to get past Germany, a nation that defeated Brazil 7-1 in one of the most historic and shocking matches in FIFA World Cup™ history.

Although Matthias Ginter represents the only player on the German Rio 2016 Olympic side who was a member of Die Nationalmannschaft’s World Cup 2014-winning squad, make no mistake, the host nation will view this as a golden opportunity for redemption. For Brazil, captain Neymar has his golden opportunity to help write his name in the history books after he was injured for that semi-final at the World Cup two years ago. 

Faghani referees FIFA Club World Cup 2015

Alireza Faghani, The Iranian referee who took control of the AFC Asian Cup 2015 has added another honor to his list by being appointed as FIFA Club World Cup 2015 referee.

The final match between Barcelona FC and the South American Champions  River Plate of Argentina is played in  Nissan Stadium (Yokohama) on Sunday 20th December.

Fagahi is the considered the top Asian referee and in recognition of his standard and record, FIFA trusted him with the most important match in its club competition calendar where players such as Messi, Neymar and Iniesta face the tough tackling Argentinian team known for their rough play.

Alireza Faghani is assisted on the line by Reza Sokhandan and Mohammad Reza Mansouri for the Final match.

Alireza Faghani selected for the AFC Asian Cup final.

The Iranian Alireza Faghani (photo) has been selected to officiate the 2015 Asian Cup Final between Korea Republic and Australia in Sydney, Australia.

The 36-year-old referee will be assisted by his compatriots Reza Sokhandan and Mohammadreza  Abolfazli in the match which will be played at the Stadium Australia. Fahad Al Mirdasi from Saudi Arabia will be the fourth official. After having been a reserve referee at 2011 Asian Cup and also at 2014 FIFA WC, Faghani has already officiated three group stage matches and a quarterfinal in this edition. Thus, this will be his fifth  apperance.

Nawaf Shukralla from Bahrain has been appointed to oversee the Third Place match, between Iraq and UA Emirates, to be played on 30 January in Newcastle at Newcastle Stadium. He will be assisted by his compatriots Yeaser Tulefat and Ebrahim Saleh, with Australian Benjamin Williams as fourth official.

Faghani has been consistently the best referee in Iran since the retirement of Moradi.