According to "Varzesh 3", Aref Aghasi was one of the players present in the training images of Esteghlal prior to their trip to Dubai. The Blues defender, who has performed exceptionally well this season and is now a serious contender for a national team call-up, faced massive good fortune in the match against Chadormalu following a purely footballing mistake that resulted in a foul inside his own penalty box, though a bizarre penalty kick by Diego Torres prevented his foul from leading to the hosts' second goal and an Esteghlal defeat.
In the 73rd minute, following a run by Reza Mirzaei from the left flank, Aghasi brought down the Chadormalu forward with a sliding tackle. Bijan Heidari initially let play continue, but after receiving a message from the video assistant referee room and reviewing the incident pitch-side, he deemed the Esteghlal defender's challenge a foul and awarded a penalty to the hosts.
Diego Torres stepped up to the spot and, despite Habib Farabbasi reading the shot correctly, put his effort into the net. The Chadormalu players' celebration was cut short as the referee, after a review, disallowed the goal due to an illegal pause by Torres during his run-up. Consequently, Aghasi's foul stood, but the penalty taker's infraction prevented the mistake from altering the match result.
This incident was a stroke of immense luck for the Esteghlal defender. Had Torres executed the kick legally, Chadormalu would have gone 2-1 up and Esteghlal's first defeat might have been recorded. However, Sohrab's team ultimately claimed a point from Yazd, and their central defender was given the chance to prepare for the upcoming match without bearing the heavy consequences of that moment.
Interestingly, in the match against Foolad as well, Aref Aghasi was initially sent off for a foul on Sasan Ansari and receiving a second yellow card, but after a VAR intervention, it was revealed that the Foolad captain had received the ball in an offside position, allowing Aref to continue playing. Now, once again, a VAR intervention came to the aid of the Khuzestani defender, cementing this technology as a savior for Aghasi.
Aref must now put the events in Yazd behind him and focus on the fixture against Shabab Al-Ahli. The fast forwards of the UAE representative can place Esteghlal's defensive line under immense pressure, and the slightest error in the penalty area will cost dearly.
Source: Varzesh 3
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