FIFA announced on Friday (June 19) that Chinese referee Fu Ming will serve as a video assistant referee (VAR) for the FIFA World Cup Group E match between Ecuador and Curacao.
With FIFA having already appointed Ma Ning as referee and Zhou Fei as assistant referee for the same match, it will mark the first time that three Chinese match officials work together in a World Cup fixture, a historic milestone for Chinese football referees.
The match will also see several records set by Chinese referees.
Ma will become the first Chinese referee to take charge of a World Cup match since 2002. He is also the only Chinese referee to have been selected for two consecutive World Cups. At the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, Ma served as the fourth official in six matches.
Fu will become the first Chinese referee to serve as a VAR at a World Cup. Earlier in the tournament, he had already worked as a support video assistant referee (SVAR) in three matches.
Zhou will become the first Chinese assistant referee to officiate on the field at a World Cup. At the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, Mu Yuxin was named as a reserve assistant referee on multiple occasions but did not take part in any match. At the 2022 World Cup, Chinese assistant referees Cao Yi and Shi Xiang also did not make on-field appearances.
In recent years, Chinese referees have been entrusted with officiating duties at major international competitions. Ma and Fu both worked at the inaugural expanded FIFA Club World Cup in 2025. The Chinese refereeing team of Ma, Fu, Zhou and Zhang Cheng officiated the final of the AFC Asian Cup in Qatar in 2024, marking the first time Chinese referees had taken charge of the tournament's final.
Before departing for the World Cup, Ma said that Chinese referees had been striving for years to prove their ability to perform on football's biggest stage.
"During the World Cup, we will learn from the world's best referees and bring valuable experience back to China to contribute to the development of Chinese refereeing," he said. "We will also do our utmost to showcase the professionalism and quality of Chinese referees on the World Cup stage."
(Source: Xinhua)
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