“ We hope that our referees will be equipped with everything they need to conduct matches as correctly and fairly as possible. ” So said a FIBA officiala few days before the start of the World Cup, to praise the merits of a preparation course, in Manila (Philippines), dedicated to the referees of the competition.
As the first round of the international meeting comes to an end, many voices are heard to question these initial good intentions. The latest example is the coach of Latvia, Luca Banchi, and one of his star players, Davis Bertans, who have had little taste for the refereeing decisions suffered against Canada.
” My feeling is that the contacts were not judged by the same criteria from the start. Three American referees, that doesn’t seem right to me », the coach got annoyed, sanctioned with a technical foul, in reference to officials from Argentina, United States and Puerto Rico. Before adding: Don’t look at the names they wear on their jerseys. (Arturs) Zagars deserved the same treatment as (Shai Gilgeous) Alexander. It’s not about salary, popularity or age. »
Rudy Gobert does not mince his words
” We had problems with fouls, so it was impossible to continue to play aggressively in defence. […] I’m going to have problems if I comment on certain things. So I won’t comment on that. Anyone who knows basketball sees what I mean “, added more cautiously his shooter, now a member of the Thunder.
Even earlier, Rudy Gobert had taken less tweezers to discuss the refereeing of the match against Latvia, the end of the game of which had been marked by the expulsion of Nando de Colo, but also a severe foul whistled against Gobert at the offensive rebound in the “money time”. “ They also had space whistles from a referee who sucks. I don’t even know why the referees are there, honestly. The unsportsmanlike is already incredible, my fault at the end… Anyway, that’s not why we lose. »
We also heard the Iran coach Hakan Demir, complaining of having seen the referees decide the fate of the match against Côte d’Ivoire with hazardous decisions. Without forgetting the Australian disputes at the end of their meeting lost on the wire against Germany.
years of experience
We could multiply the examples of this phenomenon of questioning whistles, which has become a chestnut tree in international competitions. Already during the previous major competition, Euro 2022, where critics had not failed either, FIBA had to admit mistakes. And promised to continue to evaluate the performance of the referees, taking all necessary measures throughout the competition “.
Ahead of this World Cup, the International Federation was delighted to be able to count, for the first time in the history of this flagship competition, three women (Amy Bonner, Blanca Burns and Jenna Reneau) referees selected among a group of 44 officials. Most experienced referees with an average of “ 11 years of FIBA experience “.
The Federation specified that more than 25 referees on this list had taken part in the previous World Cup, in 2019, while 18 of them were present at the Tokyo Olympic tournament in 2021. A guarantee of absolute quality? Not necessarily, while Basket News had asked FIBAat the end of the last Euro, why the EuroLeague referees were not called upon for its competitions.
What about Euroleague referees?
“ To have the best, you need to compare and have a database. It’s not like we take the names we know best. No, there are criteria and it is very important. […] If we don’t have data, how can we (THE) include ? “, had returned Kamil Novak, executive director of FIBA Europe. The latter then suggested watching Euro 2015 and checking how much players and coaches were complaining about referees at the time. This is the last tournament in which Euroleague referees participated…
Still, Euroleague referee or not, this uninhibited criticism is still relevant. It may be due to the fact that, contrary to current NBA policies, players and coaches are rarely sanctioned for speaking out. In its regulations, the Federation nevertheless provides for a certain number of sanctions in the event of violation of its code of conduct.
After warning, an individual is liable to a reprimand, a fine, up to 100,000 Swiss francs (approximately 104,000 euros), suspension… But these measures are very rarely recorded while FIBA mentions in the “ golden rules » of his disciplinary code: « Do not blame the referee or anyone else. Referees are there to maintain discipline and fair play. Always accept their decisions without discussion. »…
