Tofig Bahramov (Legend Referee)

FbNG...CtWE

6 Jan 2024

His life

Tofig Bahramov was born on January 29, 1925 in Agdam. His parents were displaced from Zangezur due to the events of 1918

Footbal Career

Tofig Bahramov, who started his career as a football player in 1943, made his debut in the game against "Burevestnik" in the Baku premier league after 6 months of training in "Spartak" society. A year later, Bahramov went to Baku "Dinamo", which competes in Group B of the USSR Championship. Later, he was invited to "Neftyannik". As a football player, he participated only in the Azerbaijan championship. According to his contemporaries, Bahramov was not the main player, but he was the captain of the team and stood out from other players because he argued more with the referees, but his football career did not go as he wanted. The football player was injured in a fight with his teammate Valentin Khlistov during one of the training sessions held in Bilgah and had to end his career at the age of 25. However, Tofig Bahramov, who is fond of football, did not want to leave his favorite hobby and decided to continue his activity in this sport as a referee.

Football referee career

In 1951, the referee did not come to the match between "Dynamo" and "Inshaatchi" for the Baku Cup. As a result, they offer the 26-year-old to manage the game. Bahramov's first meeting resulted in a scandal. Although he did not pass the first test, after 6 months he made his debut as a referee in the Republican championship. In 1952, Bahramov, who received the title of Republican referee, provided justice in the lower league of the USSR Football Championship in the match between Tbilisi and Tashkent teams. The referee, who is gradually fulfilling the expectations, manages the friendly match between "Neftchi" and the Ethiopian teams that year. He made his debut at the age of 34 in the strong team of the USSR Championship. The referee, who is always distinguished by his principles and objectivity, quickly becomes one of the best referees in the Soviet Union. He appeared as a referee in 146 matches in the USSR championship, which was considered one of the strongest in Europe at that time. Tofig Bahramov was among the 10 best referees of the former union for 13 consecutive years from 1963. According to this indicator, he is behind only Kazakov from Moscow (15 years), but he is ahead of everyone in terms of consistency. Bahramov received the title of international judge in 1965. In the 8th World Cup held in England in 1966, he appeared as a referee in one match (Switzerland-Spain) and as a layman in 2 matches (Argentina-Switzerland and England-Uruguay) until the final.

Bahramov refereed 3 games at the 1970 World Championship held in Mexico. On May 25, 1971, in Lev Yashin's farewell match, he met the USSR world team, and Bahramov managed that match. He provided justice in the European championships held in 1968 and 1972, as well as in the Intercontinental Cup (the layman in the Estudiantes - Manchester United game, the referee in the Independiente - Ajax match). In 1972, the final match of the UEFA Cup ("Wolverhampton" - "Tottenham") was entrusted to him.

In 1975, Tofig Bahramov said goodbye to refereeing

Bahramov, who returned to "Neftchi" again in 1975, worked as a second coach in the team for 3 years. Bahramov also worked as the head of "Neftchi". From 1974 until the end of his life, Tofig Bahramov worked as the head of the physical education and sports department of the Azerbaijan Pedagogical Institute of Russian Language and Literature named after Mirza Fatali Akhundov. In 1992, he worked as the chairman of referees and then as the general secretary of the Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan. In September 1992, at the invitation of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Abulfaz Elchibey, he met the Prime Minister of Great Britain, Margaret Thatcher, and Tofig Bahramov. A calm and smiling Bahramov approached Thatcher with a light gait, and Isa Gambar, without hiding his satisfaction and with his own sense of humor, said, "Look, if it wasn't for this man's whistle, you British people wouldn't have seen the "Golden Goddess" in 1966, Madam Thatcher!", he said. He pointed to Bahramov with his finger. Listening to the translation of this tirade, Thatcher said with greater emotion: "Yes! Yes, I remember, thank you very much, thank you!".