On Nov. 4, referee Maning took out 10 yellow cards and two red cards directly in 90 minutes in the 23rd round of the Chinese Super League match between Shenzhen and Zhejiang, setting a record for the most this season, according to Sports Weekly.
In the first 45 minutes of the game, Zhejiang had four yellow card winners in Sun Zhenghao, Cheng Jin, Andrijašević and Liang Nuoheng. After 70 minutes of the second half, not only was there more anger from both teams, but many of the actions tended to get out of hand. The coaching staff and players of both teams also expressed their dissatisfaction.
In the 79th minute, Shen Xiangfu, the actual coach of Shenzhen, yelled at the referee. Without hesitation, Maning came to the sidelines to show the red card and saw himself sent off. Director Shen, who is used to big games, almost lost control and kept pointing at Maning. The green tendons on his face and neck were clearly visible. After the game, he would likely receive additional punishment.
From the 84th minute onwards, the game almost got out of control with several interruptions and Manning regularly brought out yellow cards. In the second minute of injury time, Zhejiang substitute Zhang Jiaqi accused the referee twice in one minute and was penalized with two yellow cards by Maning. At the end of the entire match, Manning penalized 23 fouls and showed 10 yellow cards and two red cards, setting a record for the most in the Chinese Super League this season.
After the game, according to the plan, Manning will fly directly to Qatar, with Cao Yi and Shi Xiang to prepare for the enforcement of the World Cup. If there are no accidents, he can at least be a live referee and enforce one or two matches.
However, the sports world has also said that if Manning continues this style in the next World Cup, enforcing the law in an extremely strict style and playing two cards in one match, it doesn't seem to be a good thing for Chinese referees and Chinese soccer.
