World Cup team send-offs are usually a grand event. Rigorously selected players dressed in dapper suits, waving at fans before they board a plane to represent their countries at one of the biggest sporting events held every four years.
But not for China this year.
The country’s team again failed to qualify for the tournament, prompting its soccer fans to turn to another national representative: Ma Ning, a referee known for a stern, uncompromising officiating style that has earned him the nickname “Card Master.”
The 46-year-old has not always been a beloved figure at home and, at times, his calls have been divisive. In his decade-long career, he’s often been heckled and cursed at by spectators during domestic matches.
In 2015, he earned his moniker when he issued nine yellow cards and three reds during an intense Shanghai derby game – sparking social media virality.
In recent weeks, Chinese social media has now rallied around the formerly divisive star – the only Chinese referee at the tournament – as a source of national pride, with hashtags related to him generating millions of views on across social media platforms.
“Other countries watch their own teams play matches, we watch our own referee hand out cards,” one user of the Chinese social media platform RedNote wrote.
Ma has also secured sponsorships for his World Cup appearance from some of the biggest Chinese brands, including technology firm Lenovo and electronics giant Hisense.
Since starting his RedNote account last month, Ma has garnered more than 210,000 followers. One of his first posts was a photo of himself outside an airport before departing for the tournament, which kicks off Thursday with games across Mexico, Canada and the US, with the caption, “Let’s go!”
One user on Weibo, another popular social media platform, responded in jest, “His luggage is probably all filled with yellow and red cards.”
“You don’t need a boarding card, just show them a red one,” another RedNote user wrote.
Some say they are looking forward to tuning into Ma’s matches, despite the 12 to 16 hours’ time difference.
“I only know famous players like Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi, and Mbappé,” said Debbie Wang, who admits she doesn’t follow the sport, but told CNN she will follow Ma’s matches. “I am extremely curious about how many cards Ma Ning will issue.”
“(Ma) is our only one going to the World Cup, I think we will support him,” Ted Cui, a soccer fan from Beijing, also told CNN.
Cui, who has watched plenty of games refereed by Ma, called the controversial figure undoubtedly “one of the best referees in China and even in all of Asia.”
In addition to refereeing at the highest level of professional soccer in China, the Chinese Super League, Ma frequently referees international games, including for the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League.
Ma has been a FIFA-certified referee since 2011 and made his World Cup debut in Qatar four years ago, when he served as a fourth official for multiple matches.
“During the World Cup, we will earnestly learn from the world’s most outstanding referees, and bring valuable experience back to China to contribute strength to the training and development of Chinese referees,” Ma told Chinese state media before departing for the Americas.
“We will also go all out to showcase the style and demeanor of Chinese referees on the World Cup stage.”
Ma is joined at the tournament this year by two other Chinese officials, including assistant referee Zhou Fei and video assistant referee Fu Ming.
China has not qualified for the World Cup since 2002, its only appearance at the tournament, which ended in the group stage after being eliminated without scoring any goals.
Since then, Beijing has long sought to become a global soccer power, with China’s leader Xi Jinping, a self-proclaimed fan, saying in 2011 that his three wishes for the country were: to qualify for the World Cup, to host the World Cup, and to win the World Cup.
In the years after, the Chinese Super League had signed a slew of foreign stars with eyecatching deals rivaling the biggest leagues in Europe in terms of money spent and the government unveiled a landmark blueprint to become a “first-class soccer superpower” by 2050.
But more than a decade on, poor financial decisions, alleged high-level corruption, a years-long pandemic, and a property crisis stalling the economy have had a lasting impact on the sport, leaving its fans to rally this summer behind a viral and, at times, austere card-wielding referee.
