Chinese football fans may not have a national team to support at the World Cup, but many have found an unlikely representative in referee Ma Ning.
Ma, nicknamed the “Card Master” for his reputation for issuing bookings, has become a viral figure among Chinese supporters after sharing photos of his journey to the tournament in North America.
With China once again failing to qualify for the World Cup, the 46-year-old official has captured the imagination of fans searching for a home connection to football’s biggest stage.
A hashtag linked to Ma’s trip has attracted more than 3.6 million views on Weibo, while his RedNote account has gained 195,000 followers in less than two weeks.
His growing popularity has also led to brand collaborations with major Chinese companies, including Lenovo, Hisense and Mengniu.
Ma’s first post on RedNote showed him pulling a small red book from his referee’s front pocket, a playful reference to the platform’s Chinese name. Another post showed him at an airport in China as he prepared to travel to the World Cup, which is being hosted by Mexico, Canada and the United States.
“His luggage is probably all filled with yellow and red cards,” one Weibo user joked under Ma’s airport post.
Ma earned his “Card Master” nickname after showing nine yellow cards and three red cards during a heated Shanghai derby in 2015.
Some fans have also joked about the possibility of Ma officiating a match between the United States and Iran, casting China in a symbolic peace-broker role amid political tensions.
“The whole country is behind you — though no one from the Chinese football team,” another social media user wrote, taking a swipe at the national side’s failure to qualify.
Ma is the only Chinese match referee at the tournament and is making his second World Cup appearance after serving as a fourth official at Qatar 2022.
He will be joined in North America by assistant referee Zhou Fei and VAR official Fu Ming.
