Chinese referee to officiate the final match between U23 Vietnam and U23 Uzbekistan

This Chinese referee is quite lucky when he was assigned by AFC to officiate matches with Vietnam's representatives in the Asian arena. He once officiated the opening match between U23 Vietnam and U23 Jordan at the 2016 AFC U23 Championship, a match in which coach Miura's team lost 0-2.

In addition, he was responsible for two matches involving Vietnamese teams and three matches involving Vietnamese clubs. The three clubs, SL Nghe An, Hanoi T&T and SHB Da Nang, all lost in the AFC Cup when referee Ma Ning was in charge.

Referee Ma Ning once put the Vietnamese team at a disadvantage against Malaysia in the first leg of the 2014 AFF Cup semi-final.

The common point in those matches is that Vietnam is often at a disadvantage. In the first leg of the AFF Cup 2014 semi-final, referee Ma Ning and his colleagues handled many situations that were unfavorable for U23 Vietnam, when they ignored Malaysia's brutal fouls.

In that 2014 match, the Vietnamese team under the guidance of coach Miura won 2-1 right at Shah Alam. That was also the match where Vietnamese fans were assaulted by home fans in the stands.

The only goal Vietnam conceded came from a penalty kick. Referee Ma Ning judged that Huy Hung had touched the ball with his hand in the penalty area, although slow-motion replays later showed that Huy Hung had his hand in his side and that even though the ball touched his hand, it was not intentional.

Referee Ma Ning officiated two matches involving Vietnamese teams and three matches involving Vietnamese clubs.

After that, Malaysia captain Safiq Rahim also had a cold-blooded attack on Tien Thanh. The two midfielders Hoang Thinh and Huy Toan left the field on a stretcher, also after Malaysia's aggressive play when serious fouls were "ignored" by the referee.

Another sad mark related to referee Ma Ning in Vietnamese football is the AFF Cup 2012. This Chinese referee officiated the match where Vietnam lost 0-1 to the Philippines and was eliminated in the group stage right in Thailand, under the guidance of coach Hoang Van Phuc. That was the only Southeast Asian championship since 2004 that Vietnamese football did not appear in the semi-finals.