Original title: Strive to appear in the World Cup in the best state – an exclusive interview with the Chinese referee team of the Qatar World Cup
On the 19th, FIFA announced the list of referees for the 2022 Qatar World Cup on its official website. Ma Ning was selected as the referee, and Cao Yi and Shi Xiang were selected as assistant referees. Three Chinese referees are expected to form a referee team and make a collective appearance at the Qatar World Cup, which starts in November this year.
Three referees are currently performing AFC matches in West Asia. The referee team said in a telephone interview with a reporter from Xinhua News Agency on the 20th that everyone is very excited to achieve their long-cherished wish, which is also the result of years of hard work by the entire Chinese football refereeing community. During this period, I will continue to focus and strive to appear in the World Cup in the best condition.
“At that time, we were about to set off for regular training, and suddenly I was very excited to see the official news.” Ma Ning said, “To be honest, I was not 100% sure. After all, the World Cup is the top event in the world, and the competition for referees is extremely fierce. There will be any variables until the list is released.”
In order to realize the dream of enforcing the World Cup, the three referees have undergone rigorous selections. “If you want to enter the vision of FIFA, you must first pass the screening of the AFC. As early as a few years before the World Cup in Russia, the AFC began to track and inspect all young referees in Asia. More than a dozen groups of referees were the initial candidates. At the end of 2018, I received an official notice from FIFA to participate in the training course for the World Cup candidate referees in early 2019, and entered the first round of candidates (which did not include the referee who whistled for the World Cup in Russia).” Ma. Ning introduced.
“After a year of evaluation and inspection in 2019, FIFA selected four groups of AFC referees from the first round of candidates, plus the World Cup law enforcement referees in Russia, a total of eight groups of referees participated in the final round of selection. The inspection lasted from the beginning of 2020 to the just-concluded 2022 AFC Champions League group stage. Each round of assessment by FIFA is comprehensive, including daily physical training monitoring, regular physical tests, theoretical tests, video case tests, English test, competition law enforcement level assessment, etc., which require us not to have shortcomings, not to have mistakes, and we must go all out.” Ma Ning said.
“Take the physical fitness test as an example. In the elite referee seminar organized by FIFA in November last year, the amount of adaptive training on the day before the meeting exceeded 8 kilometers. Before the official test, referees must conduct high-intensity and complex scene simulations every day. Rehearsal, and then complete the physical fitness test. The physical fitness test requirements are: YOYO physical test level 19.5; 75-meter fast running within 15 seconds, 25-meter jogging within 15 seconds, continuous cycle 40 times… Our daily physical training data has international football To be honest, long-term overload physical training will indeed overdraw the body, and many times it is really relying on the belief of ‘standing in the World Cup’ to support us to break through ourselves.” Ma Ning introduced.
“In addition, FIFA has specially assigned lecturers to track the referees and evaluate every game we whistle for, including domestic leagues, requiring us to referee according to FIFA standards. Football referees, like everyone else, inevitably will If there are mistakes, the final comparison is who has the least mistakes, especially no major mistakes. FIFA has arranged such a long inspection period to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the candidate referees to exclude accidental events, and also requires The referee has a lasting and stable competitive state of high-level refereeing.”
The new crown epidemic, which has not yet subsided, has made the road for the three referees to hit the World Cup more difficult. “Participating in the selection requires high-level competitions, and also considers epidemic prevention. The long-term pressure abroad is indeed relatively large. After all, the room space is limited during the isolation period, and it will face greater difficulties and challenges to maintain a good competitive state, but this is not the case. Reasons and excuses.” Ma Ning said, “After so much, we are all calm in the end. My assistants (referees) and I have also been communicating and exchanging, no matter what kind of result is acceptable, because we have already I did my best to be worthy of my efforts and pursuit of the refereeing career.”
“Our achievements are due to the strength of the motherland and the construction of the referee training system by the Chinese Football Association. In recent years, the Chinese Football Association has been increasing the training of referees, creating many opportunities for Chinese referees to communicate with other countries, and has also invited many times. Top lecturers from FIFA and AFC come to teach, so that we can get in touch with the latest concepts and narrow the gap with the world‘s top referees. During the epidemic, the Chinese Football Association has provided us with all-round guarantees, enabling us to Dedicated to the improvement of business ability. We cannot do without the care and help from all parties. Thanks to Nanjing Sports Institute, Henan Technician College, Jiangsu Football Association and Henan Football Association for their support, and to the referees at home and abroad for their support. Help and care. I would also like to thank my relatives for their support. We owe a lot to our family after being away for a long time in the past few years. Of course, I also want to thank FIFA and the AFC for their recognition and trust.”
“Like athletes, the process of cultivating referees is also very long. Our inclusion in the World Cup means that Chinese referees have been recognized to a certain extent on the international stage. The inspection period for World Cup referees is four years, but these four years are only a collective of Chinese football referees. It is a stage of hard work and improvement, and there is still a longer way to go in the future.” Ma Ning said, “I hope our efforts can give some encouragement to those young people who have the dream of refereeing. When I first started to be a referee, I also felt that The dream of the World Cup is out of reach. The biggest feeling in these years is that you can only seize the opportunity if you work hard enough. Opportunities are reserved for those who are ready.”
Although phased results have been achieved, Ma Ning said that it is far from the time to breathe a sigh of relief. “There won’t be any celebrations, the three of us will train as usual today. FIFA has clearly told us that we will continue to track our performance for the next six months. As planned, we will participate in the training courses organized by FIFA in mid-June, and then May return to serve in the domestic league.”
“Only by successfully completing the task of the World Cup can it be said to be successful. What we need to do now is to strive to appear in the World Cup in the best state.” Ma Ning said. (Xinhua News Agency reporter Xiao Shiyao, Gongbing)