亚足联高度认可马宁的裁判水平，他多次受邀执法重要比赛。无论是在关键比赛中，还是在日本对伊朗的亚洲杯八强赛中，马宁的表现都让亚足联感到满意。马宁在比赛中展现出令人惊艳的掌控能力，判罚也非常果断。特别值得一提的是，在比赛接近尾声阶段，日本球员在禁区内犯规将伊朗球员放倒，马宁毫不犹豫地判给了点球。

Iran's team secured their victory over Japan in the Asian Cup quarter-finals thanks to this penalty kick. After the match, Japanese media did not raise any objections to Ma Ning's crucial penalty call. Due to Ma Ning's outstanding performance in the quarter-finals, the Asian Football Confederation made up their mind to appoint him as the referee for the Asian Cup final. Ma Ning thus became the first Chinese player to officiate in the Asian Cup final, earning the thumbs up from many fans.

许多中国超级联赛的球迷认为马宁在国内和亚足联的声誉存在两极分化，主要原因是部分球迷对马宁持有偏见。只要马宁对主队做出不利的判罚，这些球迷就会团结起来攻击他，称他为黑哨。事实上，从专业角度来看，马宁在中国超级联赛的判罚没有什么问题。如今，马宁已经巩固了亚洲第一位金哨的地位，下一个目标是能够执法世界杯。希望马宁能在2026年实现这个梦想，并迎来裁判生涯的新巅峰。