Alƙalin wasan ya busa sannan ya nuna kati.

It is a noun phrase meaning the referee of the match.

A helpful literal breakdown is:

• alƙali = referee / judge
• alƙalin = referee-of ...
• wasan = the game / the match

So Hausa builds this idea more like referee of the match than English match referee. The main noun comes first, and the related noun follows it.

The ending -n is very common in Hausa and does more than one job.

In this sentence:

• alƙalin uses -n to connect alƙali to the following noun
• wasan also has a form with -n, which helps make it a specific noun phrase, roughly the match/game

So the -n ending is part of a very common Hausa pattern you will see a lot in connected noun phrases.

Because ya is not just an extra word for he. In Hausa, it is part of the normal verbal pattern.

Here ya shows:

• third person singular
• masculine
• a completed/perfective action

So even when the full subject is stated, Hausa still normally uses this subject marker before the verb:

• Musa ya zo = Musa came
• Alƙalin wasan ya busa = The referee blew the whistle

That is standard Hausa structure.

It is best understood as a completed action form, often called perfective/completive. In many contexts, especially storytelling or reporting events, English translates it as a simple past:

• ya busa = he blew
• ya nuna = he showed

So yes, in this sentence it naturally comes out as past tense in English, even though the Hausa system is really about aspect as much as tense.

Because in Hausa, when two finite verbs are linked in a sentence, each verb normally has its own subject marker.

So:

• ya busa sannan ya nuna

is more natural than trying to use one ya for both verbs.

Think of it as Hausa making each verb phrase complete on its own:

• he blew
• then he showed

Yes. Busa literally means to blow.

In a football context, ya busa normally means he blew the whistle. The word for whistle is not stated because it is obvious from the situation. Hausa often leaves out an object when the context already makes it clear.

Here sannan means then, after that, or and then. It shows that one action happened after another.

So:

• ya busa sannan ya nuna kati = he blew the whistle, then showed a card

It is not exactly the same as kuma.

• sannan = sequence, next action
• kuma = and / also, often less focused on time order

So sannan is the better choice when you want to show a clear sequence of events.

Kati is a loanword from English card. In football, it means the card shown by the referee.

By itself, kati does not tell you which kind of card it is. If needed, Hausa can be more specific, for example:

• jan kati = red card

In this sentence, just kati is enough because the main point is that the referee showed a card.

ƙ is different from plain k. It is pronounced with a stronger, sharper sound, often described as ejective.

A simple learner-friendly way to approach it is:

• plain k = normal k
• ƙ = a tenser, more forceful k

So try not to pronounce Alƙalin exactly like it had an ordinary k. Even if your pronunciation is not perfect yet, noticing the difference is a very good start.