China's Red Card King Ma Ning Steals World Cup Spotlight Without a Team

China's national football team did not qualify for the World Cup again this year, but Chinese football fans have found a new hero to support. Instead of cheering for players, they are rallying around Ma Ning, a 46-year-old referee who is famous for his strict style on the field. Ma Ning is known for giving out many yellow and red cards to players who break the rules. In a memorable match in Shanghai in 2015, he handed out nine yellow cards and three red cards, earning him the nickname 'card master. ' This year, Ma Ning will be attending his second World Cup. The first time he went, he was a fourth official, which means he helped the main referee from the sidelines. Now, he is heading to Miami for a ten-day training camp for referees before the World Cup begins. He will be joined by two other Chinese officials, Zhou Fei and Fu Ming, who will assist the main referees during the matches.

Ma Ning has become a popular figure in China, especially on social media. Topics about him have attracted millions of views on platforms like RedNote, which is similar to Instagram, and other Chinese social media sites. Some fans are proud of him and cheer him on, while others use humor to cope with the disappointment of not having a national team in the tournament. For example, one meme compares photos of different national football teams with a picture of Ma Ning, suggesting that he is China's representative at the World Cup. Fans post comments like, 'We have Ma Ning, who do you have? ' and 'Other countries get to watch their teams play, but we will watch our referee issue cards. '

Ma Ning's popularity has also attracted sponsorships from major Chinese brands such as Lenovo and Hisense. He recently started his own account on RedNote, where he quickly gained nearly 200,000 followers in just two weeks. His first post showed him pulling a small red book from his referee shirt pocket, a playful reference to his reputation for giving out red cards. In another post, he shared a video of himself packing his suitcase and working out in the gym to prepare for his World Cup duties. The video features dramatic music and includes a Lenovo tablet, one of his sponsors. Ma Ning wrote, 'I take up this appointment with confidence and composure. World Cup, here we come. ' Although China's football team has not qualified for the World Cup since 2002, and the sport has faced problems like lack of funding and corruption, fans are excited to support Ma Ning as he represents China on the world stage, even if it is as a referee rather than a player.