“They disrespected us”: Referee scandal after US win over Serbia at Olympics
Nikita Biryukov August 9, 2024, 15:00 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
Svetislav Pesic and Bogdan Bogdanovic were unhappy with the referee in their 2024 Olympic semi-final match.
The game between the USA and Serbia is long over, but the emotions have not subsided yet. It seems that we have seen the best game of the national teams, not only in this tournament, but perhaps in a long time. Nikola Jokic and Bogdan Bogdanovic were better for three quarters, but LeBron James and Stephen Curry changed the course of the game in the last ten minutes. And did the referees help the Americans or not?
How the legendary match unfolded:
Immediately after the match, Bogdanovic was sure of it. “We tried to talk to the referees, but they didn’t talk to us. They just left. But it’s okay. The US doesn’t need that kind of help against us. You know, we didn’t have that kind of help when they grabbed us with both hands. However, I’m not the person who talks about the referees, and I even wanted to beat them. I respect us for staying calm throughout the match,” Bogdan said after the match against the US.
During the meeting, Bogdanovich had several verbal altercations with LeBron, and then, after a conversation with the King, he spoke to the referees in a rather heated tone. One of the leaders of the Serbian national team believes that the referees allowed the United States to have more contact, but the referees allowed both teams to fight throughout the match. Bogdan probably did not like this. By the way, the Serbian coach, Svetislav Pesic, spoke very harshly.
Svetislav Pesic
Head coach of the Serbian national basketball team
“I am angry because the referees did not show us any respect. You know, in Serbia there is a saying: the loser has the right to be angry. I am angry because we were not respected. I have to say that because the best player in the world scored four free throws in 37 minutes. If our top scorer plays 32 minutes and only makes one shot, it means that strange things are happening. There was no respect for us either as a basketball nation or as a team. I do not belittle their victory, I wish them good luck. But strange things happened tonight.”
Unfortunately, it is difficult to come to an agreement with a respected coach. From the first minutes, the referees made it clear that this would be a contact game. Both teams allowed themselves much more than before. At one point in the game, Bam Adebayo defended Jokic. The Serbian center pushed and tried to take a more advantageous position on the post; Adebayo fell after the contact, but immediately got up and continued playing. Joker received the ball, but gave it away and ran to set a screen, tripped after colliding with an opponent and fell to the ground. However, the referees did not stop the game. This shows how tense the meeting was.
Pesic’s complaints about free throws? Serbia reached the goal 12 times and the USA – 14. The difference is not exactly colossal. If the referees made mistakes in some episodes, we can safely say that they were isolated errors. And definitely not the ones they called. Svetislav recalled a Serbian proverb and I will have to answer him with a Russian one: “After a fight, you don’t move your fists.” It is incredibly disappointing for Serbia, they were very close to victory, but the fault lies with them and not with anyone else. The team almost had the moment of glory, but they missed it at the most crucial moment.
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