Do the referees "protect" the stars?

[son_of_a_Turk]

Sure, that is why the ref did not call that Llull fautl. if he were Navarro, the ref sure would call it

hahaha still talking about the foul

[achinet]

hahaha still talking about the foul

Yes, but on topic

[Fish]

YES they do..

[zyy]

Yes, they do. You can not block Pau Gasol, you always get a foul. Don't get me wrong, Pau is a great player, surely the MVP of the tournament, but the way he's treated is somewhat different from the "regular" big men. The same goes probably for some other players, or entire teams maybe.

[Morente]

Usually yes, but also is true that star players usually run most plays than any other, so they have more chances to get faults called.

As for that play in the game against Turkey, it was obviously fault, but sometimes the refs make mistakes, and being the last play of the game made even more difficult to say fault there.

What I hate is when both teams are treated differently by the refs. As long as they treat both teams the same I don't worry.

[MAJSTOREX]

reffs protect whoever FIBA tells them to

[nfo]

Sure, that is why the ref did not call that Llull fautl. if he were Navarro, the ref sure would call it

there is NO WAY in this world Navarro taking Llull's place in this photo

[Remon]

Jajajaja, man he is deffending hard. Only that. He is good deffender, here and in his club

Yes, but two years ago you called the greeks boxers and that the spaniards had to flop a little to equalize that.

[obe31]

That picture is really misleading my friends. But, even if Semih Erden grabbed Llull's hand, if you are 1.90 and you are running into 3 guys who are 2.08m or taller for a game-winning shot, you can not expect a damn call. That's what's normal. Calling that foul would be so absurd.

Hahaha the guy just embarassed himself in front of Hundreds of posters here..lol

His excuses do not even make any sense...blah blah..haha

Mate just say.."ok my mistake it is obvious a foul" and get over it.

[Buzissa]

Yes, no doubt! As Gasol said after the game against Turkey: "If was another player (a star player, such as Navarro or Rudy) driving to the basket instead of Llull, the ref would blow..."

[Killerbee]

As I had already written on another topic I am very disappointed with level of refs in last Eurobasket and Euroleague competitions.

Refs are becoming more and more ignorant of "small" countries and "no-star" players. On the other hand they are always chit-chatting with the stars and explaining them their decisions as they were in courthouse.

My biggest criticism goes to inconsistant criteria. Below U find my previous comment after the game Slovenia - Greece...but the intention of this post is not to complain about this specific game...I am commenting on refs quality in all important competitions that we saw in last few years.

What a moronic game.

But we saw a new basketball element that I didn't know could exist...camping in the paint

Sofo is a master of the art...still I am confused as I thought that there is a 3 sec violation in basketball game

We all saw what a great player Sofo is when he played against Spain and refs had a totally different criteria.

Not that we deserved a win today...I am just pissed off as refeereing as a whole is getting worse every year...there is no constant and clear criteria...always subjective decision by the refs trio how strict will they be calling defensive fouls, offensive fouls on pick'n'roll and 3sec violations...yesterday they whistled every contact in game Slovenia-Serbia...today they allowed full contact basketball under the rim...in such a competitive environment refs have too much influence IMO...and there are always spanish, greek, serbian and lithuanian refs in the final 4 games of the tournament...as that other countries don't have high quality refs?...why all this spanish (and sometimes greek and serbian) lobby?

Cmon...give us a clear criteria through all the tournament...how harsh will some decisions be called and how strict will refs be supervised...and not that every game is getting totally different criteria...that sometimes even changes throughout the game.

Leave basketball to players and coaches.

This problem is IMO even more visible in Euroleague...but that is already different topic.

[Joško Poljak Fan]

Referee do protect stars... the extent of doing that is definately wrong... while for Rubio case i can't help but repeating once more, what I've been repeating for the past 3 years:
He will definately be a great player, potentialy one of the "greats"... but with the treatment he is receiving and especially was receiving as 16 y.o. even I can effectively play 10-15 minutes in euroleague, as due to the physical nature of the game a 16-17 y.o. player can't survive in a "real man's game"... that's a prooven fact

[joel23]

Patrick Baumann behind that.

Because theres more controversy officiating now than last decade

[FIBA Europe Basket]

Referee do protect stars... the extent of doing that is definately wrong... while for Rubio case i can't help but repeating once more, what I've been repeating for the past 3 years:
He will definately be a great player, potentialy one of the "greats"... but with the treatment he is receiving and especially was receiving as 16 y.o. even I can effectively play 10-15 minutes in euroleague, as due to the physical nature of the game a 16-17 y.o. player can't survive in a "real man's game"... that's a prooven fact

Exactly. Rubio is being given a different rule book by the refs. No one else can get away with what he is getting away with on defense with all the fouling he does.

[achinet]

Exactly. Rubio is being given a different rule book by the refs. No one else can get away with what he is getting away with on defense with all the fouling he does.

No, that is not true. He knows how defend hard (very hard) without make a fault. He is not usual eliminated becouse faults. Otherwise all the refs in ACB, EUROLEAGUE, FIBA CUP, SPANISH CUP, EUROBASKETS, OLYMPICS, JUNIORS COPETTITIOS are wrong (too many to be wrong, dont you think?).