“The Dragon Kingdom’s referee, here to deal with anyone who won’t take no for an answer.”
That was Li Gongzheng’s most famous line.
Li Gongzheng lived up to his name: he couldn’t stand the slightest injustice.
During the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, three crooked calls knocked the Dragon Kingdom out. He smashed his water cup in anger, was electrocuted, and died shouting, “If only I could be a referee...”
When he opened his eyes again, he was a referee at the 2022 World Cup, officiating Argentina vs. Saudi Arabia.
His superior cautioned him, “You have to give the big names some leeway.” Li Gongzheng slapped down the rulebook. “I swore an oath.”
Messi complains? Yellow card. Mbappe dives? Yellow card. The Netherlands swarm the referee? Eighteen yellow cards and one red.
The whole world was in an uproar. He shot back, “Don’t like it? Watch the replay.”
From then on, they called him the Red Card Judge.
Later, FIFA changed the rulebook for him.
But that’s a story for another time.
This was only the beginning of his mission to make the whole world shut up.
