The current level of CBA referees is really hard to describe. The fine of 100,000 yuan and the five-game suspension of Zhao Rui has caused a stir, but to be honest, the problems behind this incident are not that simple. We need to have a good chat about the intricacies here.
Yang Hongfeng's performance in the Shandong vs Xinjiang game was really speechless. The refereeing standards were completely inconsistent throughout the game, causing the Shandong team to play with great frustration. It seemed like they were playing against eight people instead of five on the court.
There were countless refereeing issues in that game. The confrontation between Zhao Rui and Yu Dehao clearly occurred outside the collision zone, and according to the rules, it should have been a 2+1 call, but it wasn't blown. Such a low-level mistake appearing in a top league is indeed worrying.
Referee Yang Hongfeng has previously been involved in many controversies, but he can still continue to officiate important matches. This situation would never occur in other leagues, and the CBA's employment system is indeed confusing.
Interestingly, our country's football performance is really poor, but the level of football referees has risen quite rapidly in recent years. They can even go to the World Cup to officiate, forming a stark contrast with basketball referees.
In recent years, the Chinese Football Association has made efforts in referee management, implementing a reward and punishment system. If there are problems with the refereeing, they will be demoted from the Chinese Super League to the China League One. This pressure does force referees to improve their standards.
Football referees can now officiate at the World Cup and Asian Cup finals. In contrast, on the basketball side, we don't even get to officiate at the Asian Cup, let alone the World Cup. The gap is indeed quite large.
CBA referees are now like lying in a greenhouse. There's nothing serious about making mistakes, and they won't be demoted or suspended anyway. It's difficult to expect much progress in such an environment.
Taking the controversial refereeing in the Zhao Rui incident as an example, if the referees had made accurate calls at the time, those messy things that followed might not have happened. This chain reaction is actually quite scary.
The problem now is that CBA referees have no way out. Whether they do well or poorly, the treatment is about the same. In such a situation, it's really hard to expect them to have much motivation to improve.
To improve the level of referees, just talking about it is not enough; concrete measures are needed. For example, we can learn from the reward and punishment system of the Football Association and establish a strict assessment mechanism.
The problem now is not just the level of referees, but more importantly, the entire system needs reform. From selection, training to assessment, rewards and punishments, each step needs to be carefully planned.
In fact, there are solutions. We can send more referees abroad to study, introduce foreign excellent referees for exchanges, and even consider establishing a special referee training base to systematically cultivate new talents.
Now, CBA referees lack pressure. No matter what mistakes they make, everything remains the same. It's really difficult to improve under such circumstances. A mechanism that allows for both promotion and demotion must be established.
Referees need to know that there are consequences for making mistakes in refereeing. They can't always rely on players and coaches to take the blame; referees must also be responsible for their own refereeing decisions.
After all, improving the level of referees is a systematic project that requires efforts from the league, clubs, and the referees' committee. It's impossible to solve the problem with just one or two measures.