The Most Famous
REFEREES from China
This page contains a list of the greatest Chinese Referees. The pantheon dataset contains 147 Referees, 2 of which were born in China. This makes China the birth place of the 37th most number of Referees behind El Salvador, and South Africa.
Top 2
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Chinese Referees of all time. This list of famous Chinese Referees is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity.
1. Ma Ning (b. 1979)
With an HPI of 45.33, Ma Ning is the most famous Chinese Referee. His biography has been translated into 22 different languages on wikipedia.
Ma Ning (born 14 June 1979) is a Chinese football referee. He has been a full international referee for FIFA since 2011. He also teaches at the Nanjing Sport Institute. On 23 February 2019, it was announced that Ma Ning had been hired by CFA to become one of the professional referees in China. On 19 May 2022, Ma was selected as one of the 36 referees for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, becoming the second Chinese referee to achieve this since Lu Jun in 2002. On 21 August 2022, during a Chinese Super League game between Wuhan Yangtze River and Henan Songshan Longmen, Ma was deliberately knocked over by Songshan Longmen striker Henrique Dourado, who was subsequently sent off for violent conduct. The game finished 2–2. Five days later, the Chinese FA announced a 12-month suspension to Dourado, which was the severest penalty in the history of the Chinese Super League. On 8 February 2024, Ma Ning was appointed to take charge of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup final between Jordan and Qatar in Doha on 10 February 2024. On 14 October 2025, Ma was appointed as one of the 14 referees for the 2025 FIFA Arab Cup, having thus far overseen the matches between Mauritania and Kuwait, Morocco and Comoros, and the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait.
2. Fu Ming (b. 1983)
With an HPI of 39.22, Fu Ming is the 2nd most famous Chinese Referee. His biography has been translated into 14 different languages.
Fu Ming (born 5 January 1983) is a Chinese football referee. He has been a full international referee for FIFA since 2014. He is a teacher of Jincheng College of Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics. On 23 February 2019, it was announced that Fu Ming had been hired by CFA to become one of the professional referees in China.
People
Pantheon has 2 people classified as Chinese referees born between 1979 and 1983. Of these 2, 2 (100.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Chinese referees include Ma Ning, and Fu Ming. As of April 2024, 1 new Chinese referees have been added to Pantheon including Fu Ming.
