The FIBA World Cup is going on with top talents from the NBA like Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, Anthony Edwards, and many more participating in the tournament, representing their respective nations. The matches are intense and while some teams get to taste the sweet nectar of victory, some have to endure the sour tune of defeat.
Slovenia had to suffer the taste of defeat this Wednesday as they were eliminated from the FIBA World Cup. While in the post-match officiating Luka Doncic, the only NBA-caliber player on the Slovenian team, shared his thoughts and expressed his dissatisfaction with the referees of the tournament.
Luka Doncic criticizes refs after ejection
Luka Doncic, who plays for the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA, tried his very best to take his national team Slovenia through the FIBA World Cup. But the odds were heavily against his team when they had to face Canada, a team full of NBA-caliber talent. This turned out to be a tough fight for Slovenia with Doncic’s side failing to move further in the tournament.
In the post-match officiating El Matador made some controversial claims which might seem like an excuse or complaint. Doncic accused the referees of not calling fouls on the Canadian side’s Dillon Brooks. Doncic expressed his discontent and stated, “The referees told one of the guys: ‘We’re not gonna call a foul on [Dillon Brooks] because he’s coming at us.’ I know I complain a lot, but I don’t think it’s fair.”
"The referees told to one of the guys: 'We're not gonna call a foul on [Dillon Brooks] because he's coming at us.' … I know I complain a lot, but I don't think it's fair."
Luka Doncic on the officiating in the Slovenia-Canada game 👀pic.twitter.com/l8xWy0Jv3n
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) September 6, 2023
Luka Magic has an image of being a complaining player but his claims in this particular situation might not be baseless after all as Team Canada had 33 free throw attempts, while the Slovenian side had only 19. If the Doncic’s claims are true, it is rather unfair of the match officials because a referee should be unbiased in a game and call out a foul whenever he sees one. It should not matter which player has committed the foul even if it’s the villain of the NBA Dillon Brooks.
Canada beat Slovenia to reach SF
Slovenia’s journey was cut short and Team Canada qualified to compete in the semi-finals of the FIBA World Cup. The match was intense in the first half and it was difficult to decide which team would have moved through. Slovenia put up a tough fight with Luka Doncic finishing the match with a team-high 26 points. However, the match ended for Luca Doncic after he was ejected early in the fourth quarter for arguing for an uncalled foul.
Dillon Brooks also ended up being ejected as he was caught trash-talking a Slovenian player. But the damage had been done and it was hard for Slovenia to catch up. The match ended with a 100-89 score in the favor of the Canadian team.
What do you think of Luka Doncic’s claims? We would love to hear your thoughts on this subject, so drop down in the comments and share your take.
