Be quick with video replays, CBA warns refs
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E-mail Shanghai Daily, March 2, 2017
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Referees who take more than three minutes to go through video replay for controversial or close decisions during CBA playoff games will be punished for delaying the match, the Chinese Basketball Association said in its latest notice issued yesterday.
The notice was in reaction to an incident during the Shanghai Sharks' playoff match against the Shenzhen Leopards on Sunday. The hosts were leading 92-90 with 2.2 seconds left in the 4th quarter when Shenzhen's Jeremy Pargo made his last shot. However, it took referee Qiao Longsheng and assistant referees Zhang Peng and Han Xu 20 minutes to give a final decision that Pargo's shot was a 2-pointer rather than a 3-pointer which would have given Shenzhen victory. Instead, the Sharks won 107-99 in overtime. Yesterday, the Sharks won 95-92 to take a 2-1 lead in their best-of-5 quarterfinals.
It was said that the referees took so long to decide because none of the nine cameras around the court could provide a convincing angle on whether Pargo had stepped on the 3-point line when making the shot. When the referees were going through the videos, they were surrounded by players and officials from both sides. A few Shenzhen players tried to show referees match videos through their cellphones to prove it was a 3-pointer.
The Sharks owner and newly elected CBA president Yao Ming was in the stands at Pudong's Yuanshen Stadium, witnessing the "drama" on the court.
The CBA yesterday confirmed that the 2-pointer decision was correct, at its media briefing in Beijing. Yang Maogong, deputy director of the association's referees' committee, called for more technical support for the men in uniform, and suggested that the CBA learn from the NBA and set up a video replay center.
The CBA requires match organizers to arrange eight cameras for each regular season match, nine for the playoffs and 10 for the playoffs final. Starting this year, referees can go through TV broadcast footages immediately on courtside when faced with controversial situations. However, the recent incident showed that there is still much room for improvement.
In yesterday's CBA notice referees are required to limit the time they use for video replay to no more than three minutes, otherwise punishments will be meted out but no details were provided. Also, organizers are required to arrange security personnel to ensure that media, club officials and people not relevant to the match are kept away from the court when referees go through video replays.
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