Eleven years after the three reds and nine yellows he played in the Shanghai derbies that earned him the nickname “card master”, a nickname that endures to this day, Ma Ning is ready to fly the flag for China at the next World Cup.
Currently preparing for his second finals, after completing the fourth official role in Qatar 3½ years ago, Ma is growing into a big star for his country at World Cups in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
China has failed to qualify for the tournament since they played without any points in 2002.
Fed up with being disappointed by their footballers, fans have started hanging their hats on the 46-year-old referee for success.
Following the red card issued by the Chinese Football Association (CFA), along with fellow American officials Zhou Fei, assistant referee, and video assistant referee Fu Ming, Ma said the squad “worked hard for many 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 best referees in the world and bring that valuable experience back to China to contribute to the training and development of future referees,” he added. “We will also do our best to demonstrate the quality and professionalism of Chinese officials.”
