Beiqing: After Zhang Yuning Incident, National Team Will Invite Referee Expert to Educate Players on Latest FIFA Rules

According to Xiao Nan, a reporter from the Beijing Youth Daily, the Chinese men’s national football team, currently preparing for the World Cup Qualifiers third round in September, plans to invite a referee expert to the team on August 30th. The expert will instruct the players on the latest match officiating rules of FIFA, ensuring they do not receive cards due to unfamiliarity with the rules during matches.

It is reported that after the Chinese Football Association announced the suspension penalty for Zhang Yuning on the 27th, the national team sounded an internal alarm, emphasizing the necessity for players to take this as a warning and learn and master the latest refereeing rules.

To this end, the national team plans to invite a referee expert who is well-versed in the latest FIFA officiating rules to the team on the 30th to give a detailed explanation on these topics, aiming to reduce the likelihood of receiving cards due to improper actions in upcoming major competitions, thus avoiding being put into a passive situation.

In addition, since the 25th, the national team has increased the intensity of daily training sessions, which include short-range passing and receiving, large-scale attack and defense transitions, set-pieces, and high-intensity group confrontation drills in different areas. Each training session lasts around 2 hours, leaving the players generally feeling fatigued.

Meanwhile, the national team has also been scheduling tactical study sessions in the morning where the coaching staff plays edited match videos for the players. In Coach Ivan’s view, it is difficult for players to fully understand his tactical philosophy through just one or two hours of training. Instead, they should first identify their issues through learning, so as to address any gaps in their knowledge and skills.