CFA moves to make refs more respected

Professionalization seen as big step in improving quality of domestic game

The Chinese Football Association is on a mission to revamp and improve the domestic referee management system.

Stress tolerance and sharp decision-making are necessary prerequisites for soccer refs in China, who formerly only worked part-time. Now they will benefit from stronger technical and financial support, which the CFA hopes will enhance their credibility on the field.

The new management system, announced by the CFA on Saturday at its 2019 season preparatory conference, includes the hiring of five full-time referees, including Mark Clattenburg of Britain and Milorad Mazic of Serbia.

This marks the first time in Chinese soccer history that professional officials have been hired.

With competitive salaries guaranteed by long-term contracts with the CFA, China's new crop of pro refs will not need to hold down jobs outside of soccer, where they frequently became targets of fans, media and players for making "amateur" calls.

China's sports leagues traditionally recruit part-time referees from the ranks of physical education teachers and college professors due to limited budgets for officiating.

The nation's first five pro soccer referees will also lead a training program to give theoretical and practical courses to colleagues starting with the new Chinese Super League season, which kicks off on Friday.

"Introducing the professional referee system will promote comprehensive development of the domestic leagues ... the levels and standards of referees will be improved to ensure all league games in China are fair and impartial," said Chen Yongliang, director of the CFA's super league department.

Clattenburg, one of the game's most high-profile refs, played down the financial attraction of the Chinese offer, insisting that he was lured by the challenge to raise the level of competence in the emerging market.

"I'm excited by the new challenge. The Chinese Super League has grown markedly in recent years and they want the standard of refereeing to grow with it. I'm looking forward to being part of that," Clattenburg told The Mail on Sunday.

"You look at the quality of the players - so many at the peak of their career - and it is clear to see the ambition of the league and the clubs within it."

The 43-year-old former English Premier League official is reportedly set to earn 500,000 euros ($567,550) a year in China - almost five times his annual salary in his final EPL season (2016-17).

Clattenburg, who just finished a two-year stint in Saudi Arabia as that country's head of refereeing, will join former EPL players such as Oscar (Shanghai SIPG), Marouane Fellaini (Shandong Luneng) and Mousa Dembele (Guangzhou R&F) in the new CSL season.

His career highlights include officiating at both the Champions League and European Championship finals in 2016.

The professionalization of China's referees came after Du Zhaocai, a sports vice minister who serves as Party chief of the CFA, said in December that to improve game officials' competence while rebuilding their image was one of four key tasks for the CFA in 2019.

"It's critical to keep improving integrity within the domestic games, and the accuracy and transparency of game officiating is important to that effort," he was quoted as telling Xinhua during the CFA's 2018 season review meeting in December.

Chinese soccer referees still constantly see their work ethic questioned by fans and media due to the aftershock of a nationwide crackdown on corruption in the sport, which saw 59 officials, players, referees and club owners put behind bars from 2010-12.

Lu Jun, once the nation's most revered referee and the only Chinese to officiate at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, was in February 2012 sentenced to five years and six months for accepting bribes to manipulate league match results from 1999 to 2003.

To make sure that matches play out clean, the CSL has been appointing foreign refs since 2017.

Swedish referee Jonas Eriksson was brought in short term in October 2017 to officiate Tianjin Quanjian's (now Tianjin Tianhai) high-pressure meeting with Shandong Luneng as both clubs fought for a place in the 2018 AFC Champions League.

His European counterpart, Tony Chapron of France, oversaw Shanghai Shenhua's clash with Tianjin Teda in the lower reaches of the standings.

After a trial during the final period in the 2017 season, the CFA also introduced the video assistant referee system last season on a 20 million yuan (about $3 million) investment and has considered using the technology in lower-level leagues.

Starting this season, the CSL is also setting up a special fund to discourage fouling and promote sportsmanship. Any club that achieves the 60-minute "net match time" benchmark each round will be awarded 100,000 yuan from the fund, while the top-ranked club on the net time ranking will receive a 2 million yuan bonus at the end of the season, according to the CFA.