According to the sports reporter of Tasnim news agency, after the end of the 101st derby between Persepolis and Esteghlal, a clip was published in the cyberspace in which the reserve assistant referee Mohammad Atai got into a fight with the Portuguese head coach of Esteghlal, Ricardo Sapinto. In the list of derby referees, Mohammad Rahi’s name was included as a reserve assistant referee, but apparently he did not make it to the flight and was replaced by Atai.
In an interview with Tasnim, Atai said about his conflict with Sapinto: Esteghlal head coach started his protest from the 2nd minute when nothing happened and a clear error was made by the referee. Esteghlal benchers protested the arbitration decisions. I told Khosro Heydari, the coach of Abhi Poshan, that these protests will lead to a warning. Afshin Pirovani, manager of the Persepolis team, said that anyone other than him protested from the bench of Persepolis, I should tell him not to allow this. The protest of Esteghlal’s bench was so strong that in the 12th minute I told the referee to give a yellow card to the bodybuilding coach of this team.
He added: Sapinto took off his coat in a scene and we felt that he protested the refereeing, but we did not give a warning. Further, Esteghlal head coach protested more and left the technical area so that the referee had to warn him. Sapinto had left the technical area several times and I told the match officials that he could receive the next warning, but we tolerated the conversation. At the end of the game, in the lost time when the ball was going back and forth on the goal of Persepolis, Sapinto completely left the technical area, which we tolerated again, while the coach is not supposed to leave the technical area due to the excitement of the game.
The reserve assistant referee of Derby 101 continued: I participated in two World Cups in Russia and Qatar, as well as the UAE Nations Cup. Each team can do any type of celebration after the goal except for two moves; First, to provoke the audience and second, to have something to do with the opponent’s bench. Sapinto returned to his bench very late after Esteghlal’s goal. Apparently, he made a move in front of the Persepolis bench that caused a strong protest by Yahya Golmohammadi, Afshin Pirovani and other Persepolis benchers, and they protested to the assistant referee Alireza Ildrum. I didn’t see Sapinto’s move and I don’t know what happened, but after Ildrum’s talk with Zahedifer, Sapinto was fired.
Atai pointed out: When Sapinto got a red card, he went to Ashkan Sohri and touched him. He then came to me and said in English, “You are to blame for my dismissal.” He then started cursing in Portuguese to which I told him to shut up and go back. I gestured with my hand for him to go back, but in the broadcasted videos, it seems that it is shown that the hand that I throw is like the head coach of Esteghlal, while there was no collision at all. Sapinto was cursing and spitting. I wanted to go towards him when Rouzbe Cheshmi and Arslan Motahari, two Esteghlal players, hugged me and asked me not to continue. I said to Cheshmi and Motahari, aren’t you ashamed that someone from outside will come and spit and you will look? These behaviors are not appropriate in our culture.