At 6 PM this evening, as expected, the penalty for Xinjiang team player Zhao Rui was announced, marking the second severe punishment for the team in ten days following the CBA's sanction against Qi Lin. The CBA has imposed a five-game suspension and a 100,000 yuan fine on Zhao Rui. Normally, the maximum penalty for a suspension is three games according to the CBA's established standards, but Zhao Rui received a five-game ban, clearly exceeding the limit. However, the CBA provided an explanation: Zhao Rui physically collided with the referee and used his finger to point at the referee while using insulting language during the process of leaving the court. These two factors combined meant that even the maximum penalty was not enough, hence an additional two games were added to the suspension.
Zhao Rui was only fined 100,000 yuan, contrary to the speculated 150,000 yuan penalty, which is beneficial to him personally since fines are typically paid by the individual and not by the club. The five-game suspension will give Zhao Rui time to cool down.
Before the CBA's penalty was announced, Zhao Rui had already realized his improper behavior and apologized through his social media. However, the apology did not affect the CBA's decision to impose the penalty.
Frankly speaking, it was the unprofessionalism of the referees that led to Zhao Rui's anger, but whether there will be internal penalties for the relevant referees as in the past remains unknown. Regardless, Zhao Rui has paid the price for his actions.
Zhao Rui's punishment has sparked discussions among fans about the referees. There are roughly two opinions: one believes that some referees lack professional competence, leading to frequent incorrect judgments that dissatisfy both sides of the game; the other believes that some referees are not incompetent, but they have certain subjective biases, resulting in one side being satisfied while the other is not.
Regardless of the type of referee, they can be quite frustrating. Therefore, what truly needs improvement is the overall quality of the referees, rather than simply punishing players. Otherwise, addressing the symptoms without treating the root cause will only further diminish the image of the CBA. Do you agree?
Zhao Rui's punishment also affected Xinjiang team's head coach Liu Wei, who, as the person responsible, was fined 20,000 yuan. Previously, when Qi Lin was penalized, Liu Wei was also fined 10,000 yuan. In just ten days, Liu Wei has been fined a total of 30,000 yuan by the CBA. It's unclear how much his annual salary is with the Xinjiang team, but with such fines, how much will he have left at the end of the year?