Sohrab Bakhtiarizadeh, the head coach of Astagalal, criticized the performance of the referee after his side's 2-0 defeat against Shabab Al-Ahli of the Emirates in the Asian Premier League and weighed the difference between the two teams in taking advantage of scoring opportunities. Bakhtiarizadeh said at the press conference after the match: "My players did their best today. "We could perform well and score points like in the previous games, even though we knew we had a difficult task ahead of us." He apologized to the Esteghlal fans and said: "In the last two months, we have gone through heavy games. I apologize to the fans and we will do our best to make up for this failure." The head coach of Estagalal said about the reasons for his team's defeat: "The difference between us and Shabab Al-Ahli was in the two goals. The players of this team acted more professionally and scored a goal. "We also had opportunities, but we weren't careful." In defense of Esteghlal's playing style, Bakhtiarizade emphasized: "It was natural to play behind, because the game was played in the opponent's court. "If Shabab Al-Ahli had come to Tehran and played at Azadi Stadium, they would probably have played a lot more minutes later." At the end, he severely criticized the refereeing of the game and said: "The only negative point in the game was the refereeing conditions, which I have never seen at this level of football."

Sohrab Bakhtiarizadeh, the head coach of Astagalal, criticized the performance of the referee after his side's 2-0 defeat against Shabab Al-Ahli of the Emirates in the Asian Premier League and weighed the difference between the two teams in taking advantage of scoring opportunities. Bakhtiarizadeh said at the press conference after the match: "My players did their best today. "We could perform well and score points like in the previous games, even though we knew we had a difficult task ahead of us." He apologized to the Esteghlal fans and said: "In the last two months, we have gone through heavy games. I apologize to the fans and we will do our best to make up for this failure." The head coach of Estagalal said about the reasons for his team's defeat: "The difference between us and Shabab Al-Ahli was in the two goals. The players of this team acted more professionally and scored a goal. "We also had opportunities, but we weren't careful." In defense of Esteghlal's playing style, Bakhtiarizade emphasized: "It was natural to play behind, because the game was played in the opponent's court. "If Shabab Al-Ahli had come to Tehran and played at Azadi Stadium, they would probably have played a lot more minutes later." At the end, he severely criticized the refereeing of the game and said: "The only negative point in the game was the refereeing conditions, which I have never seen at this level of football."