Referee of the Year - Alireza Faghani is the best 2018 FIFA WC Performer

The fitfh contest of our "Referee of the Year", in cooperation with guesstheref.com, is over. Alireza Faghani from Iran has been voted as the best 2018 FIFA World Cup performer with  582 points. 

The referee from Iran has officiated four games in Russia: two group-stage matches, a round of 16 and then Third place final. Despite of having missed the appointment for the "big final" he has been recognized by our readers as the best official in terms of performances. He has shown an excellent control in all the games, with a very strong body language and players managemenet. In addition, he has managed to end all his games without any single VAR intervention, the most challenging one has been for sure the round of 16 between France and Argentina, ended with an amazing score of 4-3. For sure AFC has reached the top thank to the referee from Iran, who could be still there in Qatar 2022. 

To follow, Björn Kuipers from the Neterlands with 440 points. Once, again the Dutch has shown to be among the best UEFA referees ever, given also his great experience in important competitions. He has officiated four games: two group stage matches, a round of 16 and a quarterfinal. In addition, he has been appointed as fourth official for the final. For sure, he has been a candidate for the most important game until the end. In his matches, he has shown an excellent players management with remarkable skills in terms of game control. There were some difficult players to handle, but he did that without any issue. He also accepted to be corrected by VAR, changing an original decision, and this was also a signal of his intelligence. Despite of being already 45 y.o., according to some rumors, there is a chance to see him at the next big tournament, EURO 2020. We will see. 

Néstor Pitana is third-placed with 420 points in our ranking. He has officiated 5 matches at World Cup including the final between France and Croatia. He has shown very good performances, being always in control of his games. The success he obtained at 2018 WC is surely a consequence of what he had already achieved in previous seasons. Having already talked about him in many occasions, you can read a more detailed analysis about him here. 2013- 2018 The Rise of Néstor Pitana.

CLICK HERE to read the full ranking.

Meanwhile, you can continue to send your preferences. Click here: REFEREE OF THE YEAR

The next contest is about best AFC referee of 2018.