Doha, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- On the 1st, the AFC announced the list of all referees for the quarterfinals of the Asian Cup in Qatar. Chinese referees Ma Ning and Fu Ming will serve as referees for the matches between Japan and Iran and Tajikistan and Jordan respectively, which is the first time that Chinese referees will officiate in the quarterfinals of the Asian Cup.
On July 8, 2023, Fu Ming refereed in the first match of the 2023 Chinese Football Association Super League. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wu Zhizun According to the information on the official website of the AFC, Fu Ming will form a Chinese referee team with assistant referees Zhou Fei and Zhang Cheng to enforce the match between the Tajikistan team and the Jordan team on the 2nd. Ma Ning was originally planned to be the fourth ** in the match between Tajikistan and Jordan, but the AFC then removed Ma Ning from the list of referees for the match on the 1st, and confirmed that Ma Ning will partner with two Australian assistant referees to officiate the key match between Japan and Iran on the 3rd.
Previously, Ma Ning served as the referee of two matches between Qatar and Palestine in the quarterfinals and South Korea and Bahrain in the group stage, and Fu Ming served as the referee of the matches between India and Uzbekistan in the group stage, and served as an assistant referee (VAR) in many games.
On January 29, Palestinian player Mohammed Saleh (second from left) was shown a yellow card by referee Manin (center) after a foul. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Jia Haocheng In recent years, Chinese referees have made breakthroughs in a number of international football events. At the beginning of 2023, Ma Ning, as the head referee, joined forces with Zhou Fei, Zhang Cheng, and Fu Ming (as assistant referees) to officiate the opening match of the 2022 Morocco Club World Cup, which was the first time that the referee team from China officiated this FIFA top competition. In December 2023, Fu Ming and assistant referees Cao Yi and Ma Ji officiated the third and fourth finals of the 2023 FIFA U17 World Cup, which was also the first time that a Chinese referee played after the semifinals in a FIFA tournament.