Luol Deng made his first appearance in the “mixed zone” after South Sudan's elimination. One would have expected the president of the federation and assistant coach of the country to celebrate the performances of his team, which beat Puerto Rico and played eye to eye with the United States and Serbia. But instead, the former Bulls player, like his coach, castigated the referees, guilty in his eyes of having favored Nikola Jokic's troops.
“I've been in a lot of games. Throughout my career, as a coach the last three years, and I really think it was intentional. We couldn't be as aggressive as they were.” he lets go.
Like his coach, who spoke of “parody”Luol Deng highlights the difference in free throws: 31 to 6!
“I know Serbia is recognized in basketball. They have been at the top for years. The referees seem to know their game. It is very good that the referees know certain players, that they let them play according to their style. But when our guys played their style, they were whistled for fouls. It is as if there was a discourse or a stigma about the fact that African basketball players are aggressive.” he still rages.
Even if one can retort that South Sudan's game relies heavily on the 3-point shot, which generates fewer fouls than Serbia's game, which for its part insisted a lot near the circle, Luol Deng points out the fact that Svetislav Pesic's players were able to be very aggressive on the rebounds.
By indirectly recalling that the three referees of the match were European (France, Bosnia and Latvia).
“I don’t know why there are no African referees at the Olympics. It’s 2024. Is there a reason for that? You can say what you want. But you know, if we’re representing the continent, we have to be fully represented. And that’s something we have to continue to work on. But if these referees don’t know our game or our style, then I don’t know what the World Cup or the Olympics is. Is it just a European style of basketball? We’re not allowed to be aggressive?”
Interview conducted in Villeneuve d'Ascq
