‘The noise was unbelievable’: the referee’s view of Mexico v England at the World Cup - The Guardian

Chinese referee Ma Ning has become the unlikely face of the 2026 World Cup in China, with memes about the 46-year-old going viral and multiple domestic brands announcing collaborations with him. Over the past week, Ma has been announced as brand ambassador for several major Chinese companies, including tech giant Lenovo, consumer electronics maker Hisense, and dairy brand Mengniu. Official accounts dedicated to Ma have also been launched on lifestyle platform Xiaohongshu, also known as RedNote, and video streaming site Bilibili. Ma is the only Chinese match referee at this year’s FIFA World Cup, which will run from June 12 to July 20. It marks his second appearance at a World Cup, following his debut at the 2022 tournament in Qatar, where he served as a fourth official — an assistant referee who works off-pitch. With China’s national football team failing to qualify for this year’s World Cup, Ma has emerged as someone Chinese fans can still support. Ma is joined at the tournament by assistant referee Zhou Fei and VAR official Fu Ming.

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