At the chronological juncture of May 12, a weighty news story published by the Beijing Youth Daily revealed that four of the top names in China's refereeing world - Manning, Fu Ming, Cao Yi and Shi Xiang - and their world-class assistant counterparts, are facing a major change of heart.
The team of four Chinese referees, who were scheduled to officiate in the group stage of the AFC Cup, were not associated with the first phase of the Super League tournament due to some force majeure factor. The report further revealed that they will be traveling to Oman and Bahrain for the AFC Cup, which will be held from May 18th to 24th. After the tournament, they will also move to Uzbekistan for the final stage of the 5th U23 Asian Cup in June.
As a result of this arrangement, four of them will miss the first phase of the Chinese Super League. Given that the new Chinese Super League season is likely to kick off on June 3, when they will still be in Uzbekistan, the task of enforcing this tournament is clearly out of reach for them. However, the refereeing department of the CFA has already planned for this kind of situation. It is reported that 90 referees (including assistant referees), including the four referees mentioned above, participated in the pre-season training of the professional league in late April as the alternative referees of the Chinese Super League, which ensures the smooth implementation of the league's law enforcement work.
