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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. 

Intensive preparation for Futsal team ahead of the World Cup.

Team Melli Futsal is on the road to an a=intensive preparation program ahead of the FIFA Futsal World Cup 2016 in Colombia.   

After the completion of the fourth round of league matches, the squad of 14 players will be named for Team Melli Futsal on Tuesday 16th August. Next day , the squad will fly to Bangkok to take part in Thailand's 4 nations Cup.  After playing against Kazakhstan , Japan & host Thailand in the tournament, the squad will return back to Tehran on 25th August .

 "After a short stop in Tehran, the squad will fly to Mashad to play Uzbekistan in a friendly. " Ali Sanei , the teams' Technical Manager announced yesterday. The teams will meet twice in Mashad.

Sanei added that the team has already set up a mini camp in Tehran the aim of which was to check on the physical conditions of the players and attend to any injuries as early as possible before flying to Colombia." we will do our utmost best to ensure that the players are in the best physical and psychological shape during the next few weeks. We need to be at our best in the World Cup as our chances are quite high and players are well motivated for this championship."

  Fixture 20/8/2016 15.30 Iran - Kazakhstan - 18.15 Thailand - Japan - 21/8/2016 15.30 Japan - Kazakhstan - 18.15 Thailand - Iran - 23/8/2016 17.00 Iran - Japan - 19.45 Thailand - Kazakhstan -    

FIFA Futsal World Cup Colombia 2016

Group F

Sohrab Moradi wins Iran's 2nd Gold Medal in the Olympics

Iran won its second gold medal in two days as Sohrab Moradi was victorious in the men's 94-kilogram weightlifting. Moradi's first lift in the clean and jerk was enough for gold, hoisting 221 kilograms, which combined with his 182 in the snatch for a total of 403 on Saturday. There was silver for Belarusian Vadzim Straltsou on 395 and bronze for Lithuania's Aurimas Didzbailis on 392. Yesterday , Iran medal account was opened by Kianoush Rostami  who won gold in the Weightlifting Men's 85 Kg category.  Iran still has a chance of winning another medal in Weightlifting when Behdad Salimi , winner of London Olympics 2012 will take stage and battle for his second consecutive Olympics Title.  

Teymourian salutes Kianoush Rostami

Team Melli Captain saluted the Iranian hero Kianoush Rostami for winning the first Gold medal of Iran in the Rio Olympics Games 2016.

"On behalf of all the Team Melli members. I wish to salute our hero Kianoush Rostami for breaking the world and Olympic record and winning the gold medal for our beloved country." Teymourian said in a statement to ISNA news agency.

"It is indeed an honor to have a sportsman in the caliber of Kianoush Rostami amongst us the Iranians. We feel proud of his success, and he has certainly set a perfect example for all athletes of our beloved land. His achievement is a source of inspiration for Team Melli players. "

Iran opened its account in Rio with a gold medal and a world record as Kianoush Rostami outmuscled his rivals to win the men's 85-kilogram weightlifting class.

Rostami knelt and kissed the platform before adopting a position of prayer after his lift of 217 kilograms in the clean and jerk, which when added to his 179 from the snatch gave him a winning total of 396 — one kilo above the world record he had set in May.

 

Taj to discuss Team Melli players' conscription with the Military.

Mehdi Taj, the president of the IRIFF said that he will be meeting with Commandar Baran Cheshmeh to discus the status of the Team Melli players who are currently serving the mandatory two years conscription but are not allowed to play for Team Melli or leave the country.

In one of those weird ruling in Iran, a person under military service or conscription may play for a few selected clubs associated with the military including leaving with the club abroad , but the same is denied for Team Melli. This ridiculous ruling has deprived Team Melli throughout the years from many valuable players  because they could not leave the country. Recently Carlos Queiroz was vocal about this rule and demanded that the rule be abolished as the players are in fact serving their country by playing for Team Melli.

AFC Cup 2015 Iran vs Bahrain
AFC Cup 2015 Iran vs Bahrain

Taj said "If the rules does not permit a footballer under the military service to leave the country , then it has to be applied across the board at club and Team Melli level. The rules are not applied fairly. Of course we want to resolve the problem and I am hopeful our colleagues in the military will be cooperative and responsive in resolving this issue."

Taj was attending a military function to honor athletes.

Asked about Queiroz's whereabouts and why is he is absent while the league has already started , Taj declined to mention a specific date of Queiroz's return to resume duty with Team Melli. "He will be back in Tehran in due time." Taj said. The Portuguese coach spends most of his time outside of Iran.

Taj also responded to a question about Mehrdad Pooladi , the left back of Team Melli. "Of course we will pursue his case as we have not given up on him as a valuable player for Team Melli, but the ball is in the court of the military. In any case , our priority with the military is to seek the release of the local players first."

Taj also stated that he is totally against spectators ban as a punishment for the clubs. Esteghlal's first match was played in Azadi without fans as a punishment for their fans behavior last season." I am against banning the crowds from stadium and have asked the Disciplinary Committee to look at other means of punitive action rather than crowds banning."

 

IRIFF arranges a charter flight for Team Melli

IRIFF is to arrange a charter flight for Team Melli for their trip to Southern China. 

Team Melli is scheduled to play away to China on 6th September 2016 , 5 days after meeting Qatar in Azadi Stadium. " the federation has managed to secure a charter flight for Team Melli for the long trip to Southern China ." IRIFF's official  Gholamreza Behravan said . "This will reduce the burden of traveling and connection flights and will ensure that the players get enough rest before the match."

IRIFF usually refrains from using charter flights due to cost, and uses commercial flights for Team Melli travels. However, in cases of difficult logistics, like the flight to Turkmenistan for the World Cup qualifiers, the federation has restored to charter flights while the air force has also supported the federation in some cases by providing military transport planes.

Behravan also said that IRIFF has requested that the match date against  South Korea on 11th October to be changed because it falls on Tasooa, a day before Ashoora. However, Behravan , admitted that chances of this happening and getting the nod from AFC and FIFA is quite remote. Such change in the carefully arranged and tight schedule of FIFA World Cup 2018 qualifiers will result in disruption for all the teams in the group and not only the two teams concerned. That raises the question of why ask in the first place if it is not a practical request?

On the league program. Behravan said that "after round 4 of the league, we will have to pause to allow Team Melli to prepare for the Qatar match. The team will conduct a training camp in Italy before playing against Qatar in Azadi."

Ben Williams is to retire.

Jai Bednall
news.com.au@jaibednall
IMAGINE spending more than two decades at the very top of your field, and then when you retire, witnessing widespread celebration you were finally quitting.
That’s life as a football referee and the reality veteran Australian whistleblower Ben Williams faced today after announcing Tuesday night’s International Champions Cup match between Juventus and Tottenham at the MCG would be his last match in Australia. “After 22 years on the national panels and 12 years as a FIFA referee it feels like the right time to hang up the whistle,” Williams said. “I’m looking forward to spending time with my increased family and giving back to them for all the love and support they afforded me throughout my career.” The referee who cruelly and unfairly red carded Mehrdad Pooladi in the quarter-final match against Iraq , is perhaps the most hated of all the referees by Iranian fans throughout the history.  Not Only this dismissal was unjust to the player, it meant that the team had to play the rest of the match and extra time with one player short. Williams fell a victim of Iraqi goalkeeper play acting and was too naive at the scene. No Iranian will be missing this referee for sure. Good riddance is quite appropriate for a man that has gave a whole nation a hardship. It’s some resume, but do you think it meant anything to A-League followers on Twitter? Of course not. Australian betting company sportsbet.com.au — who are always attempting to find the lighter side of moments like this — were particularly savage. One of their tweets — which included a gif of fans applauding the news — even prompted former ASADA boss Richard Ings to respond: “Why are people so unkind?” But the betting gurus weren’t the only ones taking shots. This is how Twitter reacted.  
David Schulze @davschulze

Is Ben Williams guide dog also retiring or will he be given to one of the other refs

Azadi stadium is becoming a full seater.

The Minister of Youth and Sport inspected the ongoing work in Azadi stadium to convert the jewel of Iranian crown into a full seater venue.

FIFA has put a partial ban on the stadium due to the fact that the higher level section was consisting of concrete slab and spectators had to suffer being seated on such a rough surface. That ban reduced the capacity of Azadi stadium to less than half.

The Sport Ministry managed to fork out a budget to upgrade the stadium especially since Iran is involved in the FIFA World Cup 2018 qualifiers starting next September. 

Mr. Mahmoud Goudarzi spoke to the media after concluding his inspection tour and assured the public that the seats will be ready before the match against Qatar on September 1st. "We have been promised the delivery of the stadium 10 days before the match. I am confident that we will have all the seats ready by then". "The stadium capacity will be reduced to 78,116 all seated." the minister declared.

Asked about the request by Carlos Queiroz to move the Team Melli practise sessions to Azadi Stadium , the Minister declined such request and said that "Azadi is a venue for matches and not a practise ground. The football federation must find a suitable place for Team Melli to practise". Responding to another question from a reporter on whether this Stadium will be handed over to Esteghlal and Persepolis, Mr. Goudarzi rediculed such claims "This is meaningless. This stadium belongs to the people of Iran, it makes no sense at all to hand it over  such a grand venue to two clubs only"

 Goudarzi said that by the instruction of the President, a technical team has been inspecting the stadium to check the safety level and problems of water seepage and accumulation. This team has already carried out the inspection and are in the process of finalizing its recommendations and report.

 

FARHAD TAVAKOLI NAMED MOST VALUABLE PLAYER

 The-afc.com

Jul 23 2016 /

Bangkok: Farhad Tavakoli of NAFIT Al-Wasat claimed the AFC Futsal Club Championship’s Most Valuable Player award despite the Iraqi side suffering a penalty shootout defeat to Japan’s Nagoya Oceans in the final at Bangkok Arena on Saturday.

Iranian Tavakoli scored a first-half equaliser before also netting from the spot after the finalists had played out an action packed 4-4 draw in the title showdown.

The number 13 scored three goals in five matches in the continental competition and, along with Iranian compatriot Ghodrat Bahadori, was instrumental in NAFIT’s march to a first ever final.

“I’m happy to win this award, but the trophy is for all the players, not just me,” said Tavakoli, who was part of the Iran side that won the AFC Futsal Championship in Uzbekistan earlier in the year.

“After Tasisat went out, I felt myself and Ghodrat Bahadori were representing Iran and we tried our best.”

Tavakoli scored his first of the tournament in the 5-1 Group C win over China’s Dalian Yuan Dynasty that saw the 2015 semi-finalists progress to the knockout stage as table-toppers.

The Iranian then starred without scoring in the 2-1 quarter-final victory over Qatar’s Al-Sadd, before netting from inside his own half during a Chonburi Bluewave power-play in extra time in the semi-final as NAFIT eliminated the hosts 4-1.

His strike in the final levelled the tie up at 2-2 and was one of the goals of the tournament after he finished from close in following a wonderful give-and-go with Waleed Khalid.

“This is the first time we have been in the final and we had less experience than them,” added Tavakoli. “I think their experience helped them but that we were the better team.”

Shamsaei thanks God

Tasisat Daryaei Iran's representative and defending Asian club champions, were knocked out by Nagoya Oceans in the quarter finals. Vahid Shamsaei has just announced his resignation from Tasisat following the disappointing result in Bangkok. Shamsaei was the player-Manager of Tasisat during the championship held in Thailand.

CAS overturns FIFA verdict on Sardar Azmoun

Team Melli striker Sardar Azmoun,  has been handed the good news following arbitration of CAS . He will continue playing for FC Rostov.

Azmoun who spent 2015-16 season at FC Rostov on loan from Rubin Kazan, was supposed to return to the Tatars at the end of the season; however Rostov triggered the buyout clause in Azmoun's contract. Rubin  Kazan denied this clause and demanded that Sardar report to duty at Kazan as he is officially still a Kazan Rubin player.

FIFA ruled for Kazan however Azmoun’s lawyer appealed the case to CAS.

Finally CAS ruled in favor of Azmoun overturning FIFA's ruling and he is now included in Rostov's UEFA Champions League third qualifying round squad for the game against Anderlecht on Tuesday.

Azmoun finished seventh in 2015-16 Russian Premier League top scorer list scoring nine goals in 23 appearances, despite getting half as much playing time as some other top scorers. He was also voted as the fifth most valuable player of the league, narrowly behind players such as Fyodor Smolov, Moussa Doumbia, and Brazilian superstar Hulk.