Most fans watching Curaçao’s 0-0 draw against Ecuador on Saturday night focused on the Curaçaoan goalkeeper, whose 15-save effort was compared to some of the greatest displays in World Cup history.

在上周六晚库拉索0-0战平厄瓜多尔的比赛中，大多数球迷的目光都聚焦在库拉索队门将身上，他全场15次扑救的惊艳表现，被拿来与世界杯历史上一些最伟大的表演相提并论。

But for some fans in China, the main draw of the match was the tournament debut of Ma Ning, 47, the World Cup’s highest-ranking Chinese referee.

但对一些中国球迷来说，这场比赛的最大看点是47岁的马宁迎来他的世界杯首秀，他是本届世界杯上级别最高的中国裁判。

Because China did not qualify for the World Cup, Ma has become the country’s de facto representative at the tournament. His popularity has given him an unusually high-profile turn in a role that typically avoids the spotlight.

由于中国队未能晋级世界杯，马宁成为了中国在这一大赛上的事实代表。他的高人气使他在担任这个通常低调的角色时获得了罕见的高关注度。

Ma was part of the first Chinese refereeing team to officiate a match at this World Cup, along with assistant referee Zhou Fei and video assistant referee Fu Ming. He is also the first Chinese referee to be selected for two consecutive World Cups (he was chosen for the 2022 tournament but did not receive an on-field assignment), and the first to officiate a World Cup match since 2002.

马宁是本届世界杯上首支执法比赛的中国裁判组的一员，另外两人是助理裁判周飞和视频助理裁判傅明。他也是首位连续入选两届世界杯的中国裁判（他曾入选2022年世界杯，但未获得场上执法任务），并且是自2002年以来首位执法世界杯比赛的中国裁判。

This was all cause for celebration in a country of 1.4 billion people whose team has not qualified for the World Cup since 2002, when it lost all three of its group stage games without scoring a goal.

对于这个拥有14亿人口的国家来说，这一切都值得庆祝，自2002年以来，中国队就再也没有晋级过世界杯，当时中国队在小组赛中三战全败，且一球未进。

Over the weekend, China’s state-run news media hailed the match in Kansas City, Mo., and the Chinese referees’ roles as a “historic milestone.” Some fans said on social media that they had tuned in just to watch Ma officiate.

周末期间，中国官方媒体赞扬了在密苏里州堪萨斯城举行的这场比赛以及中国裁判们的表现，称其为“历史性的里程碑”。一些球迷在社交媒体上表示，他们特意收看直播，就是为了看马宁执法。

On Saturday, several hashtags about his performance trended on Weibo, a Chinese social media platform. One of them, “Ma Ning issues two yellow cards in one minute,” referred to a sequence in the first half when he penalized both teams in quick succession.

周六，关于他执法的几个话题登上了中国社交媒体平台微博的热搜。其中一个话题“马宁一分钟出示两张黄牌”，指的是他在上半场接连处罚两队球员的连续判罚。

周六在密苏里州堪萨斯城，裁判马宁（左）在厄瓜多尔对阵库拉索的比赛中向厄瓜多尔球员示意。

Other social media users praised Ma for keeping his cool near the end of the half, when some members of the Ecuadorean team argued with him over a yellow card.

还有的社交媒体用户则称赞马宁在下半场临近结束时保持了冷静，当时厄瓜多尔队的一些成员因不满一张黄牌与他发生争执。

Ma will next take part in Tuesday’s match between England and Ghana, though on the sidelines as the fourth match official.

马宁接下来将参与周二英格兰对阵加纳的比赛，不过届时他将作为第四官员在场边协助。

Ma has amassed over 130,000 followers on Weibo and over 350,000 followers on Rednote, an Instagram-like platform in China. He has received a slew of sponsorship and endorsement deals, appearing in ads over the past few weeks for companies including Meituan, China’s largest food delivery company, and Castrol, a British oil company.

马宁在微博上吸引了超过13万粉丝，在类似Instagram的中国社交平台小红书上拥有超过35万粉丝。他获得了大量的赞助和代言合约，在过去几周里出现在包括中国最大的外卖公司美团以及英国石油公司嘉实多等企业的广告中。

Although Chinese fans are now rallying behind Ma, he has had his detractors. His nickname in China is “Card Master” for what some say is a tendency to penalize infractions with cards. In one 2015 Chinese Super League match in Shanghai, he issued nine yellow cards and three reds.

虽然中国球迷现在纷纷支持马宁，但他过去也曾遭遇批评。他在国内的绰号是“卡牌大师”，因为有人认为他有频繁出牌处罚犯规的倾向。在2015年上海举行的一场中超比赛中，他曾出示了九张黄牌和三张红牌。

Before the World Cup, some fans joked that Ma traveled to matches with two suitcases, both filled with the cards.

在世界杯之前，一些球迷还开玩笑说，马宁去比赛时带了两个手提箱，里面装满了红黄牌。

So does he deserve the “Card Master” moniker?

那么，他配得上“卡牌大师”这个绰号吗？

According to Transfermarkt, a sports data site, Ma has issued 1,603 yellow cards and 55 red cards across 375 matches since 2009. That is about 4.3 yellow cards per match, higher than the average of about 3.5 per match that referees handed out at the 2022 Qatar World Cup, according to data from the site.

根据体育数据网站Transfermarkt的数据，自2009年以来，马宁在375场比赛中共出示了1603张黄牌和55张红牌。这相当于每场比赛出示约4.3张黄牌，高于该网站统计的2022年卡塔尔世界杯裁判场均约3.5张黄牌的水平。

By that measure, at least, the nickname fits.

至少从这个标准来看，这个绰号名副其实。