At exactly 20:00 at nightfall, Shanghai Harbour Club played an exciting match against Wuhan Sanzhen at the SAIC Pudong Football Stadium in the grand opening of the new Chinese Super League (CSL) season at their home ground. International referee Fu Ming, a veteran referee from the capital city of Beijing, will be in full charge of the marquee match. His two assistants, Cao Yi from Henan and Guogingtao from Shandong, are both international assistant referees, while the Beijing-based star fourth official, as well as Wang Wei from Beijing and Yanbian's Renton, form a video support team that makes the game more accurate on a technical level. It is worth mentioning that there are three international referees involved in this match, which shows the high specification of the event.
Turning to the noon hour on March 2, Tianjin Jinmen Tigers will meet the challenge of Nantong Zhiyun in a passionate clash at Tianjin Teda Football Stadium. Gansu-born international referee Du Jianxin will take on the enforcement role for the first time, and the up-and-coming international referee will be on a platform to show off his skills.
Hubei's Ma Ji and Shandong's Wu Mingfeng served as assistant referees, Beijing's Niu Minghui as the fourth official, while Zhejiang's Xing Qi and Hebei's Zhang Xuesen worked as video assistant referees. Guangdong's Aramus then oversaw the execution of the entire refereeing team.
Meanwhile, Guizhou's Wang Jing will referee the tough match between Cangzhou Lions and Beijing Guoan at Cangzhou Stadium. Shenzhen's Luo Zheng and Changchun's Wang Xihong are the assistant referees, Guizhou's Ma Yunkun is the fourth official, Hubei's He Kai and Hunan's Zhang Yanbin are in charge of video assistance, and Shandong's Yao Qing is the referee supervisor.
Chengdu Rongcheng faced Qingdao Hainiu at 19:00 at the Phoenix Hill Sports Park Professional Football Stadium. Xinjiang's Mai Maiti Jiang is the referee, with Jiangsu's Shi Xiang and Shaanxi's Sun Kai as his assistants, Guangdong's Jia Zhiliang as the fourth official, Wuhan's Gu Chunhan and Guangdong's Liang Songshang as the video assistant referees, and Liaoning's Zhang Lei as the referee's supervisor.
At 19:35 on March 3, Zhejiang returned to Huanglong Sports Center to face Shenzhen Xinpengcheng. Beijing Sport University's Ai Miao is refereeing the match, Shanghai's Jin Jun and Deng Bo are assistants, Beijing's Chen Jindong is the fourth official, Beijing's Liu Zhao and Qingdao's Zhang Meiling are video assistant referees, and Xi'an's Han Wei is supervising the refereeing.
At 20:00, Meizhou Hakka started the first round finale against Shanghai Shenhua at Huitang Stadium of Wuhua Olympic Sports Center. Chongqing's Jin Jingyuan is the referee, Henan's Liu Xing and Chongqing's Tang Rongdi are the assistant referees, Jiangxi's Wan Tao is the fourth official, Shandong's Dai Weige and Guangxi's Zhang Navy are the video assistant referees, and Wuhan's Hu Jianhong is the referee supervisor.
Looking back, there have always been controversies over the penalties awarded at the end of matches. In the new season, the new rules introduced by the CFA, such as elevation and blacklisting, make every referee face an unprecedented test. There are as many as 13 international referees enforcing the first round, and their performance will undoubtedly be the center of attention.
