[Sports view]Bad officiating mars basketball playoff games
It’s easy to question a referee’s call or non-call after the game is finished, especially with the help of instant replays.But there are times when the refereeing gets so bad that officials leave the public little choice but to second-guess their performance.
Over the weekend, there were two playoff games in the Korean Basketball League, and both were marred, simply put, by bad officiating.
There’s a saying that goes, “don’t let the referees decide the outcome of a game,” with a poorly timed call or non-call. But in those two games, the referees did decide the outcome.
On Saturday, the Mobis Phoebus were up 64-53 on the visiting Daegu Orions with 18 seconds left in the third quarter, when the Orions’ point guard Kim Seung-hyun stole the ball near half-court.
Then Phoebus guard Yang Dong-geun grabbed Kim by his waist to prevent the fast break. Upon contact, the whistle blew, but the call was that Kim had gone out of bounds.
The Orions’ bench argued Yang forced Kim out of bounds, but they only got a technical foul in return. If Kim scored on the play and the Orions made the defensive stop, the deficit would have been cut into single digits going into the final quarter. Instead, after the technical, the team was deflated and went on to lose by 15.
Sure, we all make mistakes, don’t we? But what transpired afterward is even more inexcusable.
In a blatant attempt to “compensate” for the blown call, the refs issued a technical on the Phoebus center Chris Burgess in the fourth quarter for hanging on to the rim too long after a dunk, although Burgess was up there for only about a second. The league rules say staying up for 3 seconds or more warrants a delay of game technical. Burgess also received a goaltending call on a layup early in the fourth quarter although the replay clearly showed the play was a blocked shot.
On Sunday, the LG Sakers were trailing the visiting KTF Magic Wings 68-64 in the early fourth quarter, when point guard Lee Hyun-min got a steal. As he dribbled toward the half court, Lee was pushed by an opposing player from behind, and lost control of the ball.
No call was made, and after a steal, the Wings’ guard Shin Gi-sung drained a three-pointer for the 71-64 lead. If the Sakers had scored on that fast break, the lead would have been at least cut to two, and with the boisterous home fans behind (a season-high 7,888), the Sakers could have taken off from there.
Some angry home fans threw water bottles on to the court. I don’t condone such behavior in any situation, but I could understand their frustration.
After some horrendous officiating in the second quarter of a game in February, I asked a KBL executive at halftime what he thought of the referees here. The executive, who shall remain anonymous, said he felt they were the best in Asia.
I haven’t seen as much of other Asian leagues as he has. But I didn’t believe him for a second, and still don’t.
I mean, referees in China can’t be THAT bad, can they?
By Yoo Jee-ho Staff Writer [jeeho@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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