According to the sports reporter of Tasnim news agency, after Esteghlal’s 1-0 defeat against Persepolis, Ricardo Sapinto went to the referee Payam Heydari and his assistants and strongly protested them. According to the Portuguese media and journalists of this country, Sapinto insulted the derby referees in his native language and used inappropriate words.
For this purpose, Referee Payam Heidari and Assistant Referee Mohammad Reza Mansouri appeared at the Football Federation today (Tuesday) and held a meeting with Khodadad Afsharian, the head of the Referee Committee, about Sapinto’s behavior. Mohammadreza Abulfazli, another assistant referee of the derby, who was not present in this meeting, was also following this story. The refereeing team has reported the behavior of Esteghlal head coach in its report to the refereeing committee.
Khodadad Afsharian told Tasnim reporter: We have submitted the preliminary report of the referees in the derby to the league organization to be given to the relevant authorities, but we have not filed a complaint.
The head of the referees’ committee said that Hojat Karimi, head of the Esteghlal Club, demanded his answer about Payam Heydari’s refereeing in the derby: We are always responsible for the referee we choose. I will say only one sentence about the derby and that the refereeing team judged well.