Former referee Todd Warnick spoke on an episode of the ‘Give Me Control’ podcast about the officiating in the game between Team USA and Serbia. He noted that while Serbia didn’t do themselves any favors with the defensive collapse they had in the fourth quarter, the referees should have given them some calls during the game.
“Referees, they can’t be starstruck by who is playing the game. If they foul, the foul. And if they score, they score, and if they don’t foul, they don’t foul. This is sort of a fundamental error that you don’t want to see referees make. They (Serbia) could have benefitted from some more correct decisions in the fourth quarter by the referees.”
In a new Give Me Control episode, former referee and current referee coach Todd Warnick breaks down the officiating in the USA vs. Serbia game 👀 pic.twitter.com/nbN3horFfh
— BasketNews (@BasketNews_com) August 9, 2024
Warnick clearly believes that the referees were caught up in the glory of officiating a game with some of the greatest players of all time, and that played a factor in them giving Team USA some favorable calls. The officiating of the game, especially in the fourth quarter, has been heavily scrutinized since the game ended.
Serbia head coach Svetislav Pesic slammed the referees for the lack of respect he felt Serbia was shown during the game. Whereas Bogdan Bogdanovic outright accused the referees of being biased towards Team USA and helping them win the game and head to the gold medal game against France.
Serbia dominated against Team USA, pushing them in a way we hadn’t seen in this tournament before. In fact, Serbia was so powerful that they led against Team USA for 35 of the 40 minutes they played against each other, whereas Team USA only led for about three minutes, mostly in the fourth quarter of the game.
Serbia will now have to forget about the poor officiating for the time being and focus on their bronze medal game against the reigning FIBA World Champions Germany. Serbia pushed Team USA to their limit, so they will not want to walk away from this tournament empty-handed.
Team USA Ready To Win The Gold Once Again
As for Team USA, they will not pay any mind to the critics of their incredible comeback win against Serbia. While they struggled against them for most of the game, their superstars were able to come up big time for them, as Stephen Curry and LeBron James delivered when the going got tough to snatch victory out of the jaws of defeat.
Stephen Curry had his best game in a Team USA jersey, as he dropped 36 points, with 8 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal to help them overturn the deficit.
As for LeBron James, he put up a triple-double with 16 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists as he made history by becoming the first player to get multiple triple-doubles in Olympic history.
Now, Team USA will focus on their gold medal game against France, as they look to secure their fifth consecutive gold medal at the Olympics. They will face a hostile environment, with the local supporters rallying behind the hosts trying to usurp the reigning gold medalists. But with the talent available to Team USA, they will consider themselves favorites to win it all.
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