Na Ma Ning, di 46-year-old Chinese referee wey dem dey call ‘card master’, don become big celebrity for China because na im be di only Chinese referee wey FIFA choose for di 2026 World Cup wey dey happen for Canada, United States, and Mexico.
Since di Chinese national team no don qualify for World Cup for 24 years, Ma Ning don become di face of China for di tournament. Fans dey hail am, and e don attract sponsorship contracts from big companies like Lenovo, Hisense, and Mengniu.
Social media dey buzz with memes and videos about am, millions of views for platforms like Xiaohongshu and Bilibili. Tomorrow night, Ma Ning go referee di match between Ecuador and Curaçao for di group stage for Kansas City Stadium.
E go work together with assistant referee Zhou Fei and VAR official Fu Ming. Dis one be di first time three Chinese referees go officiate di same World Cup match. Ma Ning go be di first Chinese referee to lead a World Cup match, Fu Ming go be first Chinese VAR, and Zhou Fei go be first Chinese assistant referee for di tournament.
Dis show say Chinese referees dey gain more trust for international competitions. Ma Ning and Fu Ming don already work for di 2025 FIFA Club World Cup. Di team of Ma, Fu, Zhou, and Zhang Cheng don referee di 2024 AFC Asian Cup final for Qatar, wey be first time Chinese referees handle di final.
Before dem leave for World Cup, Ma Ning talk say Chinese referees don try for years to prove dem get di competence and ability to act for di biggest football stage. Ma Ning born for Liaoning province for northeast China. E work as physical education teacher for university before e turn professional referee for 2010.
For im ten-year career, e don receive both praise and criticism for im strict attitude towards players. For a 2015 league match, e show nine yellow cards and three red cards, wey give am di nickname ‘card master’. For 2025, di Chinese Super League get average of 4.13 yellow cards and 0.22 red cards per match.
