Photo Credit: Wang Zhao/AFP/Getty Images
Team Lithuania Coach Rips FIBA Into Pieces After Refs Cost The Team The Quarterfinals
In what they call a ‘do or die game’, Team Lithuania was down by two points against Team France, with just over 30 seconds remaining.
Jonas Valanciunas was fouled and went to the line. After making the first free throw, his second was bouncing around the rim, before Rudy Gobert knock the ball away.
Now to the controversy: Gobert made contact with the rim before he hit the ball, which should have resulted in the scorekeepers giving the game-tying point to Lithuania, according to FIBA rules.
The referees missed the call but also didn’t check the video review, leading to France clinching a spot in the quarterfinals and Lithuania being eliminated.
This led to Lithuanian Coach, Dainius Adomaitis, losing his sh*t at the post game press conference, entertainingly ripping apart FIBA.
FIBA in the meantime acknowledged that “The correct decision should have been to call a basket interference and one point awarded for Lithuania,” in an official statement.
.@FIBA statement regarding #FRALTU game at the @FIBAWC: pic.twitter.com/y6xRGcE7UM
— FIBA Media (@FIBA_media) September 8, 2019
FIBA additionally revealed that the two referees in charge, have been suspended for the remainder of the World Cup.
