Chinese refs take Cup stage

Chinese match officials marked a new World Cup milestone on Saturday as Ma Ning, Zhou Fei and Fu Ming took charge of the Group E encounter between Ecuador and Curacao.

Ma delivered a solid performance as the match referee in the 0-0 draw at Kansas City Stadium, issuing one yellow card to Ecuador and five to Curacao.

It represented the most significant World Cup involvement by Chinese match officials in more than two decades.

Ma became the first Chinese referee to take charge of a match in soccer's showpiece since 2002. Zhou served as an assistant referee, while Fu worked as a video assistant referee.

"The selected match officials are the very best in the world," FIFA's chief refereeing officer Pierluigi Collina said when the tournament officials were named.

FIFA's decision to appoint three Chinese officials to the same match underlined the progress made by the country's referees in recent years.

Soccer's global governing body appointed 52 referees, 88 assistant referees and 30 video match officials for the 2026 World Cup.

Those selected came from all six confederations and 50 member associations, making it the largest refereeing team in World Cup history.

FIFA said the selection process lasted more than three years and followed its "quality first" principle.

Candidates were assessed at FIFA tournaments, international matches and domestic competitions. Their consistency, fitness, health and match management were also rigorously monitored.

Collina said the officials had attended seminars and worked at FIFA events ahead of final selection.

"Their performances in domestic and international matches were regularly assessed," he said.

For China, Saturday's match continued a steady rise in high-level appointments.

Ma and Fu both worked at FIFA's expanded Club World Cup in 2025. Ma, Fu, Zhou and Zhang Cheng were also part of the Chinese team that officiated the 2024 AFC Asian Cup final in Qatar.

Ma's selection for a second straight World Cup underlined his standing among Asian referees.

At the 2022 World Cup, he served as a fourth official. In 2026, he made the move into the center of soccer's biggest stage.

XINHUA