Chinese referee Fu Ming will make his FIFA World Cup debut on Saturday as a support VAR official.
FIFA announced on Friday that Fu will assist referee Jesus Valenzuela in the Group D match between Australia and Türkiye at BC Place in Vancouver.
His compatriots Ma Ning, serving as a referee, and assistant referee Zhou Fei have yet to make their tournament debuts.
At the 2022 FIFA Club World Cup in Morocco, Ma officiated the opening match between Egypt’s Al Ahly and New Zealand’s Auckland City, with Zhou and Zhang Cheng as assistant referees and Fu acting as an assistant VAR, marking the first time a Chinese referee team had officiated at FIFA’s premier club tournament.
In recent years, Chinese referees have appeared regularly at major international competitions. Ma and Fu also officiated at the inaugural expanded FIFA Club World Cup in 2025. (Xinhua/GSF)
