At a World Cup without China, attention turns to a fan-favorite Chinese referee

Selected for his second consecutive World Cup, Ma Ning arrives at the tournament as China's highest-profile representative.

Photo via The AFC Hub (YouTube)

China’s men’s national team failed to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, extending its absence from the tournament since its lone appearance in 2002. The country’s highest-profile representative at the tournament will instead be Ma Ning, a FIFA-listed Chinese referee selected for the competition after serving as a fourth…