Ways must be found so Chinese referees worth their whistles

FIFA has unveiled the names of the referees for the 2018 World Cup that will be staged in Russia from June 14 to July 15. It is a pity, but not a surprise, that there is not a single Chinese referee among the total of 99 referees, who are from 46 countries and regions, on the list. People's Daily comments:

According to FIFA, it mainly considers performances, understanding of soccer and the ability to judge incidents on-the-spot, when selecting referees for the World Cup finals.

There were Chinese referees in the 2002 World Cup held in Japan and the Republic of Korea and the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. But their absence in the 2018 World Cup is almost predictable, given their frequent disputable penalties at home and rare, yet lackluster, performances at international matches since then.

The last time that a Chinese referee appeared at a major event was in the Asian Football Confederation Asian Cup in Qatar in 2011.

This is in sharp contrast to the passion of Chinese fans and huge inputs of the Chinese government and companies. The generous, if not insane, spending of Chinese clubs on foreign players and coaches has already given China the image of a cash cow in the sport.

Yet, the amateur, sometimes strange, performances of Chinese referees have increasingly proven a factor not only in the outcomes of single matches, but also impeding the healthy development of football in China.

Although efforts have never ceased to improve the ability and performance of referees, their low pay, which is counted in thousands of yuan each month, stipulated by sports administration's rules, is nothing compared with the huge capital flows behind the league matches, where their power of manipulating the games, can be easily transformed into personal gain.

It is not rare for winners of the Golden Whistle Award, the top honor the Chinese Football Association gives to Chinese referees, as well as the related CFA members to be exposed as eager bribe seekers.

Chinese referees will surely not be considered for international games before these malpractices are addressed.