‘Congratulations traitor': A-League ref attacked by Iran after Trump photo
Faghani, who migrated from Iran to Australia in 2019 for family reasons, has long been considered one of football's top officials and was given the job of refereeing last week's Club World Cup final in New Jersey, which Chelsea won 3-0 over Paris Saint-Germain.
But his post-match interaction with the US president, who presented the trophy to Chelsea's players and then controversially remained on stage with them as they lifted it for the first time, has not gone down well in his former country.
Trump also shook hands with the match officials, presented them with their medals and, with FIFA president Gianni Infantino, posed together in photos with Faghani and his assistants, in which all of them made thumbs up gestures.
For this, Faghani has attracted the ire of Iranian state media and the city of Qom, south of Tehran, where posters based on one of the pictures of him standing with Trump have been erected, along with the message: 'Congratulations on your medal, traitor.'
The picture has been digitally altered, replacing Faghani's medal with a potato. Below are the logos of the Qom Municipality and the region's cultural, artistic, and sports organisation.
The Fars News Agency reportedly wrote on its Telegram channel on Saturday: 'Just days after the Israeli and American attack on Iranian soil and the martyrdom of over a thousand Iranians, Alireza Faghani warmly greeted Trump after receiving his award and mimicked his pose in the commemorative photo.'
The commentator covering the Club World Cup final on Iranian state television avoided using Faghani's name, referring to him instead as 'the referee', and the live broadcast of the ceremony was also abruptly cut short, according to reports.
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Perth Now
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Sydney Morning Herald
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