Read 3 minutesUpdated: June 17, 2026 05:49 PM IST
Somewhere in Qom, south of Tehran, there is a poster of Alireza Faghani standing with Donald Trump and Gianni Infantino, all three giving the thumbs-up after last year’s Club World Cup final. Faghani is wearing the medal in the original photograph. The poster replaces the medal with a picture of a potato. The caption read: “Congratulations on your medal, Traitor.”
Faghani — the site of that Club World Cup final — at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Tuesday Took charge of Senegal against France. After consulting the pitchside monitor, he denied Kylian Mbappe a penalty, awarded the goal-kick and France won 3–1. Routine, officiating the fourth World Cup in a row as a referee, is a record that no one else has.
There is nothing else unusual about his presence here.
Faghni was born in Kashmar, Iran, the son of a panch. His playing career was short-lived before he called it quits in 1994. He became a FIFA referee in 2008 and has played in four AFC Asian Cups, 2016 Olympic Final, 2018 World Cup, 2022 World Cup. In 2019, he moved to Brisbane with his family.
“When I talked to some friends who live in Australia, I thought that living there would suit my family situation better,” he told SBS Persian. “There is a system here. Individual views do not influence the system.”
He did not explain what individual votes meant. But in 2022, the Islamic Republic of Iran Football Federation removed him from its list of international referees. According to Iranwire and several reports, it was deleted in retaliation for Mahsa Amini’s support of the protest. He started representing Australia as an international umpire in 2023. Change was bureaucratic. There were no reasons.
Then the final of the Club World Cup took place. Trump took the field for the presentation ceremony. Faghni shook his hands. They posed together, gave thumbs up, smiled. “The final is never just another match. Grateful for the opportunity to be part of football history once again,” he wrote on Instagram.
Iranian state television commentators did not use his name during the broadcast, and the presentation ceremony was cut short on Iranian state television, the Sydney Morning Herald reported. Qum put up a poster.
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Iranwire noted the paradox this week: “Some Iranians around the world see Faghni as an ‘Australian’ referee at the 2026 World Cup; to the public he remains entirely their own.” Iran officially denied it. Iran still claimed him.
Iran trained in Tijuana in this World Cup because the US visa arrived the day before their first match. The president of the federation was denied entry. Allotment of tickets to fans was cancelled. Iran crossed the border for each game and returned to Mexico the same night.
He was already here.
“I’m 48 years old,” he told FIFA before the tournament. “I’m trying to enjoy every moment of it.”