With the group stage of the West Asia Zone of the 2022 AFC Champions League season coming to a successful conclusion on the evening of April 27th local time, a grand tournament was concluded in Saudi Arabia in the early hours of April 28th Beijing time. The Chinese-born world-class refereeing team, led by Ma Ning and Fu Ming, with four members including Cao Yi and Shi Xiang, also successfully completed this stage of enforcement. However, according to internal sources, they will not return home immediately, but will most likely continue to be assigned by the AFC refereeing department to go to
U23 Asian Cup
and the AFC Cup for the "Race to Qatar".
World Cup
Law Enforcement Qualification" for the final push.
On the evening of April 27th and the early morning of April 28th Beijing time, the group stage of the West Asia Zone of this season's AFC Champions League came to an end in Saudi Arabia after six rounds of fierce battles. In the 6th round of Group E match held in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, Amman United of Jordan played against Nasof of Uzbekistan, and Chinese world-class referee Fu Ming was the referee of the match. He was joined by three Korean referees, assistant referees Park Kyun Ryong and Kwak Seung Soon, and fourth official Kim Dae Yong. In the previous day's Group D finale, another Chinese world-class referee, Ma Ning, refereed the match between Uzbekistan's Tashkent Cotton Farmers and Saudi Arabia's Buraidai Cooperation, with Chinese referees Shi Xiang and Cao Yi as assistant referees.
In fact, these four Chinese referees, as the key elites trained by the AFC Refereeing Department, have become familiar faces on the enforcement stage of various major tournaments organized by the AFC in recent years (including national team matches and club matches). Taking the 2021 season as an example, these four, together with world-class referees Zhang Lei and Shen Yinhao, have repeatedly enforced the AFC Champions League, the AFC Cup, the 40-team World Cup and the 12-team World Cup that season in different capacities (referee, assistant referee, fourth official and video assistant referee). Fu Ming also refereed Tokyo last year as a video assistant referee.
the Olympics
男
women's soccer
The tournament, as well as the AFC-focused
women's soccer
club tournaments. Their enforcement performance has also been highly recognized by the AFC.
Earlier this year, the AFC wrote to the CFA asking about the feasibility of several Chinese world-class referees going abroad to enforce the AFC Champions League and other tournaments, and eventually received a positive response. Ma Ning, Fu Ming, Shi Xiang and Cao Yi also eventually traveled to West Asia, and have enforced some of the important matches of the 12th round of the tournament and the just-concluded group stage matches of the West Asia region of the AFC Champions League.
They have also continued their excellent enforcement momentum this season. Fu Ming, for example, has taken part in a total of five AFC West Asia group stage matches, three of which he refereed, and another two as the fourth official. Manning and the two Chinese world-class assistant referees had roughly the same number of matches. The main reason why they split their enforcement duties in the 6th round was because the group stage finale of the same group kicked off at the same time and there was a higher demand for high-level referees.
So, will these four Chinese world-class referees return home immediately after completing their enforcement duties in the group stage of the West Asian region of the AFC Champions League, and move on to the new season
China Super League (soccer league)
What about the enforcement work of the league? It is understood that despite the jet lag and other difficulties faced by them in West Asia, they participated in the professional league referee business training organized by the CFA and conducted from April 24 to 28 for the new season through online means. After completing their enforcement duties for the AFC Champions League group stage, they will probably not return home immediately, but will wait for the latest assignment notice from the AFC to continue their enforcement duties.
U23 Asian Cup
Regular season and AFC Cup (club competition).
The race program shows that the 5th
U23 Asian Cup
The final phase of the tournament will be held in Uzbekistan from early May to May 19th. Considering that China has been implementing stricter quarantine rules for preventing epidemics and people entering the country, there is a high probability that the AFC will continue to assign these four Chinese world-class referees to enforce the various other sequences of matches hosted by the AFC, taking into account the difficulties that several of them may encounter during their world journey. As they are currently still working on the 2022 Qatar
World Cup
The final stage of the law enforcement qualification to go all out, so the CFA from the perspective of doing a good job in the world tournament law enforcement, and does not intend to require them to immediately return to China to enforce the domestic professional league. Of course, the four want to board the
World Cup
The final round of the law enforcement stage, still need to continue to maintain excellent law enforcement standards and good physical condition. For them, the next law enforcement work is the "sprint stage" to decide their fate.
