Solid

Mr. Faghani

Mr. Faghani had a good game. He let the game flow, and if there were mistakes, most of them were negligible. In a few cases, there is cause to reflect upon: in the first four minutes, once an Australian and then a Korean treaded on an opponent's foot. The refereeing team did not detect both incidents (these incidents are very difficult to detect clearly, as your eyes are just about 1.6-1.8 metres above ground and you are quite afar). The booking of Kruse (Australia) was harsh and almost ridiculous (68'). The player fell awkwardly, had to be treated for a lengthy while, which could have given plenty of time to ponder upon even if, at first glance, the ref deemed it to bo be diving. The referee stuck to his guns, and when Kruse stood up he was shown the yellow card (the player was almost immediately replaced as he genuinely twisted his ankle). And then there was the phase before the second Australian goal. Juric (Aus) and the Korean defender Jin-Su Kim tussled for the ball, pushing and shoving each other. The Australian had the upper hand, turned the ball to his mate Troisi who scored the decider. I am convinced, the tussle took place after Juric had pushed his opponent from behind without an an appropriate reaction from the refereeing team. However it was a solid performance, the referee being relaxed and contributing to a generally fairly contested encounter.

The assistant referees

The Iranian ars were ok, but I think they could have salvaged the referee on two crucial occasions. Mr. Sokhandan was in a better position to detect Australia's captain, Jedinak treading on an opponent's foot (2'), and Mr. Abolfazli was in a perfect position to see Joric pushing Kim from behind (105'), but didn't raise his flag.