Latvia coach suggests referees favoured Canadian players at FIBA World Cup
Latvian national team coach Luca Banchi didn’t seem all that pleased with the referees in his match at today’s FIBA World Cup.
Banchi’s Latvian side fell to Canada today by a 101-75 score in both teams’ final group stage action, although they’ll each be heading to the second round of the tournament.
Asked about the technical foul he received in the second quarter while arguing with the game’s officials, Banchi made it clear he felt there was a bias against his side from the referees Juan Fernandez, Jenna Reneau, and Johnny Batista, who hail from Argentina, the USA, and Puerto Rico, respectively — notably, none of which are from Europe.
“My feeling was that was not the same criteria to judge the contact from the very beginning. You come to play Team Canada… three referees from America doesn’t sound fair. Don’t look at the name they have on their shirt. [Arturs Zagars] deserves the same respect as [Shai Gilgeous-Alexander],” Banchi said following the match. “It’s not a matter of salaries, it’s not a matter of popularity, it’s not a matter of age. It seems that FIBA rules work for somebody, not for somebody else.”
Gilgeous-Alexander, who finished fifth in NBA MVP voting this season while making the All-NBA first team, once again led the way for the Canadians, putting up 27 points on the day.
Here's Latvia coach Luca Banchi sharing his thoughts on the refs today at #FIBAWC:
"My feeling was that was not the same criteria to judge the contact from the very beginning. You come to play Team Canada… three referees from America, doesn't sound fair. Don't look at the name… pic.twitter.com/893INtHFLp
— Adam Laskaris (@adam_la2karis) August 29, 2023
Banchi’s full answer lasted four minutes and 25 seconds, though he did offer the Canadians their flowers in the second half of his response while also praising his own team.
“I’m not looking for excuses,” he added. “We accept their strengths, their power; it’s nice that we pushed them to play a very high-level game.”
With three wins in as many games, Canada advanced out of the group stages as the top seed in Group H, the first time they’ve won their group in World Cup history.
Up next for Canada is a pair of games this coming Friday and Sunday against Spain and either Ivory Coast or Brazil, based on the results of tomorrow’s games.
The results from the first round carry over, and the top two teams from Latvia, Canada, Spain, and a fourth team advance to the single elimination knockout round, beginning with the quarterfinals starting next week.
While winning the tournament is the ultimate goal, Canada has some secondary motivation to attempt to qualify for next year’s Olympics, which they can do either by winning it all or finishing as one of the top two of seven teams from the Americas.
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