Chinese referee Ma Ning remains in Jeddah after AFC Champions League Elite controversy
Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ittihad were enraged by two decisions – post-match tensions boiled over, with fans throwing objects and a player sent off
Chinese referee Ma Ning remained in Saudi Arabia despite claims on Tuesday that he had been removed from the AFC Champions League Elite tournament following a controversial quarter-final performance.
Reports from Saudi Arabia media alleged that Ma was dropped and had left the country after Al-Ittihad’s 1-0 loss to Japanese team Machida Zelvia on Friday in Jeddah.
Chinese media Beijing Youth Daily, however, rebutted the report the same day, stating that the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) referees committee reviewed the disputed decisions and cleared Ma of any fault.
“After verification, we understand that the AFC referees committee quickly reviewed several controversial calls from that match and determined that Ma Ning’s refereeing contained no errors or missed calls,” the newspaper said.
“Ma Ning is still in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. After the second leg semi-final between Machida Zelvia and UAE’s Shabab Al Ahli on Wednesday, the AFC will decide whether the referees, including Ma will leave Jeddah.”
Al-Ittihad of Saudi Arabia were incensed by two of Ma’s decisions: a 60th-minute challenge by Machida’s Kuryu Matsuki on their goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic, which earned a yellow card for the Japanese player, and an 86th-minute Danilo Pereira goal that was ruled out for handball after a VAR review.