According to the Beijing Youth Daily, Ma Ning and five other Chinese referees arrived safely in Riyadh after transiting through Jeddah. Barring unforeseen circumstances, they are scheduled to officiate the AFC Champions League match as planned.

On October 12, the AFC confirmed that six Chinese international referees led by Ma Ning had arrived safely in Riyadh from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Barring unforeseen circumstances, they will officiate the second-round match of the 2026-2027 AFC Champions League Elite in the West Asia region between Al-Nassr (featuring Cristiano Ronaldo) and Neftchi (of Uzbekistan). The match is scheduled for the evening of October 12 local time, which corresponds to the morning of October 13 Beijing time (CET). The refereeing team's travel itinerary to the match venue had been previously altered due to a bombing attack at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. However, all personnel are currently safe and pre-match preparations are proceeding smoothly.

According to the AFC's referee assignment plan, all on-field referees and video assistant referees for this match will be Chinese, totaling six officials. Ma Ning will serve as the match referee, Zhou Fei and Luo Zheng will be the first and second assistant referees respectively, Zhang Lei will be the fourth official, Fu Ming will be the video assistant referee, and Du Jianxin will be the assistant video assistant referee. Among these, Ma Ning, Fu Ming, and Zhou Fei all have experience officiating World Cup final matches and are elite referee candidates selected by the AFC. The fact that this entire Chinese refereeing team is independently undertaking the task of officiating a high-profile AFC Champions League Elite match also demonstrates the AFC's recognition of Chinese referees' professional capabilities.

In line with the AFC's standard practice for international referee assignments, referees traveling abroad to officiate matches typically arrive in the host city approximately two days before the match. This group of referees was originally scheduled to arrive directly in Riyadh on October 10 local time. However, due to recent consecutive bombing attacks at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, which caused casualties, the AFC prioritized the safety of its personnel and arranged for the refereeing team to modify their flight plan. The referees first arrived in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and after regrouping there, proceeded to the match venue in Riyadh.

Clearly, during the modification of the refereeing team's transit arrangement, the AFC and the event organizing committee continuously monitored the team's itinerary, assessed the security conditions of the match venue in real time, and planned a safe transfer route for the referees, ensuring the safety of their international travel. The latest information from the AFC indicates that all six Chinese referees have arrived safely in Riyadh and the match officiating should proceed according to the original schedule, barring unforeseen circumstances.

It is noteworthy that because these referees belong to different member associations within China and some also have refereeing assignments in foreign leagues, the members of this refereeing team departed for Saudi Arabia from various ports of entry at both domestic and international levels. It is also possible that some may have met at a transit point for the AFC Champions League. Of course, this is a relatively standard arrangement for AFC's cross-border referee assignments. Upon arrival in Riyadh, the refereeing team members will sequentially complete pre-match preparations such as pitch inspection, joint VAR equipment testing, and event communication protocols, strictly implementing the AFC's pre-match procedures to ensure the successful completion of the refereeing duties for this AFC Champions League Elite match.

The match between Al-Nassr and Neftchi is a focal point of this round of the AFC Champions League in the West Asia region, with Al-Nassr featuring several internationally renowned stars including Cristiano Ronaldo, which naturally draws significant attention. The safe arrival of the refereeing team at the match venue means the match can proceed as originally planned. At press time, the AFC had not released any official announcement regarding a change to the match schedule.

Tradotto dall'IA.

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