TEHRANTIMES - Referee Mohsen Ghahremani will take charge of 76th derby of Tehran which will be held on Friday.

The referee committee of Iran’s Football Federation (IFF) has already shortlisted Ghahremani and Ahmad Salehi for the derby and according to Iran’s semi-official Mehr News Agency Ghahremani will most likely officiate the match.  

The Tehran derby was acknowledged by the World Soccer magazine in June 2008 as the most important derby in Asia and the 22nd hottest match in the world.

Esteghlal and Persepolis have played against each other 75 times, with Esteghlal winning 24 games, Persepolis taking 18 victories, and 33 matches ending in a draw.