PHILADELPHIA - Chinese referees Ma Ning and Fu Ming made their debut at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup on Monday, officiating in Flamengo's 2-0 victory over Tunisia's Esperance de Tunis.

In the Group D opener, Dutch referee Danny Makkelie served as the match referee, with Rob Dieperink acting as the Video Assistant Referee (VAR). Ma was assigned as the fourth official, while Fu took on the role of Assistant VAR (AVAR).

The tournament features 35 referees, 58 assistant referees, and 24 VAR officials representing 41 FIFA member associations.

Notably, no Chinese assistant referees were included in this year's roster. Given FIFA's usual practice of assigning referee teams from the same country or region, Ma's opportunities to serve as a main referee may be limited.

At the 2022 FIFA Club World Cup in Morocco, Ma made history by officiating the opening match between Egypt's Al Ahly and New Zealand's Auckland City. In that game, Zhou Fei and Zhang Cheng served as assistant referees, while Fu was also AVAR - marking the first time a Chinese referee team had officiated at FIFA's premier club tournament.