Chinese referee Ma Ning shared details about his “harrowing” journey after officiating an AFC Champions League Elite fixture in Saudi Arabia on social media on Wednesday.

Amid escalating tensions in the region following a recent attack on Riyadh’s international airport, the six-member Chinese officiating crew led by Ma completed their match assignment despite severe travel disruptions and uncomfortable conditions in the host city.

The officials were in Riyadh for the AFC Champions League Elite match between Cristiano Ronaldo’s Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr and Uzbekistan’s Neftchi Fergana on Tuesday.

Following the fixture, the crew travelled overnight by road, completing a seven-hour journey to Doha, Qatar, before boarding a flight back to China.

Expressing relief at returning to the “embrace of the great motherland”, Ma said he felt deeply “at ease” and thanked supporters, describing the mission as “both fraught with twists and harrowing”.

The journey was plagued by complications from the start. The departing flight was delayed, and then it was unable to land in Riyadh due to an incident on the ground.

The plane was diverted but its next destination was not accepting flights, forcing it to divert and eventually land at a third airport.

Once on the ground, the officials then encountered more complications and split into two groups to travel by road for up to nine hours, arriving on the eve of the match.

The problems, however, continued on matchday.

“Just 15 minutes before the match, we received an emergency alert on our mobile phones,” Ma recalled.

“The match commissioner then notified us that the match was delayed for security reasons. Around 45 minutes later, we received notice that the game could proceed, warmed up again, and started the match.”

Operating under considerable uncertainty, the Chinese team, which also included assistant referees Zhou Fei and Luo Zheng, fourth official Zhang Lei, VAR Fu Ming and AVAR Du Jianxin, carried out their duties.

Al-Nassr won the match 3-1, with Ronaldo on the scoresheet and Ma handing out four yellow cards and one red.

After the final whistle, the team opted against staying in Riyadh, leaving immediately overland.

“After the match ended, we decided to travel directly by vehicle from the stadium to an international airport in a neighbouring country,” Ma said.

“After a seven-hour journey, we reached the neighbouring country’s international airport and returned smoothly to Shanghai.”

Reflecting on the decision to press ahead with the assignment, Ma noted the team had legitimate grounds to withdraw both before departure and following the flight diversions.

“However, we still decided to travel to the match venue to complete this officiating assignment,” he said. “Once we accepted the appointment, we had a responsibility to see it through. At the same time, we wanted the world to see that Chinese referees are professionally capable and trustworthy.”

Ma offered special thanks to the Chinese Embassy in Saudi Arabia, the Chinese Football Association, his family and supporters, noting that embassy personnel remained in constant communication from the moment the officials arrived in Riyadh until their safe return.

“We do not live in a peaceful era, but we live in a peaceful country, so we must cherish the fine life we have today,” Ma said. “At the same time, we pay tribute to our revolutionary martyrs who created such a fine environment for us.”

Saudi Arabia is set to stage the Asian Cup for the first time ⁠in 2027, a key test ⁠before the 2034 World Cup.

The tournament is scheduled to kick off on January 7 across eight venues in three cities – Riyadh, ‌Jeddah and Al-Khobar.

Asian Football Confederation president Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa said they were in “no hurry to make a decision” on whether to postpone the tournament or not.

“We can wait until the ‌end ‌of November. Things can change very quickly for better or worse in the region and it is a question of seeing what happens,” ‌he said.

“If we need to make a decision then we will, but we ⁠could move back a year to 2028 if we need to. But at the moment we are monitoring the situation and everything ⁠is on schedule.”