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Chinese referee Ma Ning at the Asian Cup. [AFP]
Chinese football fans left without a national team to support at the World Cup have turned to referee Ma Ning -- nicknamed "Card Master" for his enthusiasm in booking players -- as the country's representative for the tournament.
With China's team once again failing to qualify, the 46-year-old Ma has emerged as an unlikely viral star after he shared photos on social media last month of him jetting off to the finals in North America.
A hashtag related to Ma's trip to the tournament has received more than 3.6 million views on social media platform Weibo, while the referee's RedNote account has gained 195,000 followers in less than two weeks.
