Three Chinese referees to officiate at Qatar World Cup

BEIJING, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Chinese referee Ma Ning and two assistant referees, Cao Yi and Shi Xiang, have been appointed to judge at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, according to a list released by FIFA on Thursday.

The world football governing body has named 36 referees, 69 assistant referees and 24 video match officials for its flagship national team competition, saying that the referees were chosen based on their quality and the performances delivered at FIFA tournaments as well as at other international and domestic competitions in recent years.

The 43-year-old Ma will be the second Chinese referee to officiate the world's most prestigious football tournament. Besides, six women's match officials have been appointed in men's World Cup history for the first time.

"The criteria we have used is 'quality first' and the selected match officials represent the highest level of refereeing worldwide," said the chairman of the FIFA Referees Committee, Pierluigi Collina.

The 22nd FIFA World Cup will be held from November 21 to December 18 in 2022 at eight stadiums in Qatar.