Chinese referee Ma Ning praised for his ‘masterful performance’ in first World Cup match

Chinese referee Ma Ning and two of his compatriots made their first appearances at the World Cup on Sunday, and where witnesses to history and one of the great displays of goalkeeping in Curacao’s goalless draw with Ecuador.
Ma was joined at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas by Zhou Fei, the assistant referee, and video assistant referee Fu Ming.
The match marked the first time a referee from China had taken charge of a World Cup game in 24 years, since Lu Jun officiated Croatia v Mexico and Poland v the United States, at the 2002 tournament co-hosted by Japan and South Korea.
Curacao battled to a 0-0 draw with their Group E opponents, earning a first World Cup point in the Caribbean island’s history, thanks largely to an outstanding performance from goalkeeper Eloy Room.
The 37-year-old, whose clean sheet against Jamaica in November sealed Curacao’s place in the tournament, made 15 saves that set a record for a 90-minute World Cup match.

With China notably absent from the tournament, the trio, especially Ma, are flying the flag for their country at the World Cup.
The match was a fairly straightforward one for the officials, with Ma, known as the “card master”, dishing out six yellow cards and receiving praise online for the way he handled the game.
“His work is truly admirable! His reaction to the South American players’ faking and diving tactics was refreshing. Hopefully, we’ll see more referees like him in major tournaments,” wrote one user on Chinese social media platform Webio.
“Congratulations to Curacao, but don’t overlook the performance of Chinese referee Ma Ning. He is, in my opinion, the best referee in this tournament. His standards were consistent and accurate. It was truly a masterful performance,” another fan happy with Ma’s performance said.
Before the World Cup, Ma said the three officials had “worked hard over the years to show that Chinese referees are capable of standing on the world’s biggest football stage”.

“During the World Cup, we will learn from the world’s best referees and bring those valuable experiences back to China to contribute to the training and development of future referees,” he added. “We will also do our utmost to showcase the quality and professionalism of Chinese officials.”
This is the second World Cup for Ma after he served as a fourth official in multiple matches in 2022, in Qatar. Zhou and Fu are making their debuts.