Chinese football fans slam Paraguay’s dark arts against France in World Cup clash

Paraguay’s antics in their World Cup defeat to France had Chinese fans wishing that referee Ma Ning had been in charge.

The South Americans appeared more intent on kicking their French opponents than trying to score during the last 16 encounter in Philadelphia on Saturday.

A Kylian Mbappe penalty 20 minutes from time was enough to see France through to a quarter-final clash with Morocco, and in the absence of any real excitement on the field, it was the performance of the Paraguayans, and Uzbekistan referee Ilgiz Tantashev, that drew most attention among Chinese fans.

While Ma is known as the “card master” by supporters, Tantashev handed out just four – three of them to France – in a game littered with niggly fouls and dirty tackles.

“If Ma Ning was officiating the match, I guess Paraguay would only have their goalkeeper left in the match,” said one commenter.

“Mbappe, now you know how good Ma Ning is as a referee, right?” replied another.…Read more by SCMP Sport