After the Korean team defeated Bahrain 3-1 in the first round of the Asian Cup, the Korean team, Korean media and Korean fans expressed dissatisfaction with the Chinese referee Ma Ning who was officiating the game. "Daily News" reporter Zhao Rui wrote an article and commented - The Chinese referee team showed their due level in this game, and it was Sun Xingmin who took the initiative to "add color" to Ma Ning.
On the fourth match day of the Asian Cup, the Chinese referee team appeared. The referee Ma Ning showed a total of 7 yellow cards in the match between the South Korean team and the Bahrain team. Among the people who received warnings were the soccer star Son Heung-min.
Within 12 minutes of the start of the game, Ma Ning showed 2 yellow cards to the South Korean team: No. 5 Park Yong-woo violently hit the opponent's shoulder and neck with his knee during the scramble; Kim Min-jae knocked down the player who dribbled the ball from behind, destroying the Bahrain team's threatening counterattack. Ning's yellow card was very timely and he did a good job controlling the field. In the 27th minute, the South Korean team's left back Lee Ji-di was knocked over by a Bahrain player after getting rid of him, and received a yellow card. Ma Ning also let go of another more reckless foul by Li Jidi, otherwise the Korean team would have one less player. South Korean team coach Klinsmann subsequently replaced Li Jidi. Bahrain's two yellow cards were for No. 7's flying tackle on his opponent and No. 13's intentional handball after falling to the ground.
In the 41st minute, Sun Xingmin complained about a foul on him in the penalty area. Ma Ning chose his position well and had a panoramic view of the situation in the penalty area, but he ignored it. During the halftime break, Sun Xingmin stepped forward to communicate with Ma Ning. The Bahrain players also wanted to say a few words, but Ma Ning's demeanor made the opponent dare not make a mistake.
Shortly after the start of the second half, the Bahrain player kicked Son Heung-min down fiercely. Ma Ning did not draw his card, which was not consistent with his law enforcement style. In the 60th minute, Cao Guicheng knocked down a Bahrain player near the opponent's penalty area. It seemed unintentional, but in fact it disrupted the opponent's quick counterattack. He was not unjustly given a yellow card. The most exciting moment occurred in the 4th minute of stoppage time. Son Heung-min broke into the penalty area with the ball from his left rib and fell backward. Maning, who was in an excellent position and had certain predictions, immediately stopped the game and gave Son Heung-min a shot. yellow card. To be fair, Ma Ning's law enforcement performance in the previous game was quite satisfactory. It was Sun Xingmin who took the initiative to give Ma Ning a chance to "show his face".
The two assistant referees Zhou Fei and Zhang Cheng performed equally well in this game. They accurately determined that the Korean players were offside many times. The Chinese referee team showed its due level.
In addition, according to a report by the Beijing Youth Daily yesterday, the AFC Dismissal Committee supported Ma Ning and believed that the yellow card he gave to Son Heung-min for diving was a good penalty: "The referee issued a yellow card for Son Heung-min for diving. This is a once-in-a-lifetime decision." A very good penalty, which can make it clear to all participating teams that this (flopping) is unacceptable behavior."
