On January 14th, Beijing time, Liaoning ended Shanghai's 16-game winning streak. Did they really rely on their own strength? They should thank the referees for an unfair victory, as Shanghai's defeat is still glorious.
In the game between Shanghai and Liaoning, Shanghai was missing a key player, with superstar foreign player Lofton, arguably the best foreign player in the CBA, absent due to injury. By the fourth quarter, Shanghai's best-performing foreign player, Bradso, who had played for 28 minutes, was controversially sent off by the referee. Despite being allowed to use their "chariot, horse, and cannon," Liaoning almost dragged Shanghai into overtime to level and reverse the game. Even though Liaoning eventually ended Shanghai's 16-game winning streak, their victory was not honorable.
This is because Shanghai was playing away from home, and their two super foreign players were unable to play in the last six minutes. Yet, they almost overwhelmed Liaoning and only lost by three points. Shanghai has nothing to be ashamed of; their young players truly performed well, with Li Hongquan scoring 25 points. On the other hand, Liaoning relied heavily on veterans like Ferguson, Wells, and Han Dejun, with no other main players scoring in double digits, and the supporting players' performances were average at best.
Furthermore, Liaoning still needed the help of the referees. In the fourth quarter, Shanghai's foreign player Bradso was blown three times by the referee, especially for a foul and a technical foul for diving. Can you blow the whistle like that? Everyone wants to see the players on the court give their all and deliver an exciting game, not have the referees steal the show. However, the home referees in Liaoning sent the opposing team's leader off, with both a foul and a technical foul.
Knowing that there was already a foul, the referee directly gave a T for diving without any warning. Is this kind of refereeing normal? Bradso was so angry that he stormed off to the locker room. If he had been allowed to play the whole game, he could have easily scored 30+15. The referees blew the whistle like that, which is probably unprecedented even in the NBA.
This is just one of the controversial calls. Earlier, Liaoning's Yan Shouqi had dived twice, and the referee called an offensive foul on Shanghai. What's feared is not occasional controversial calls, but double standards in refereeing. Home-court advantage usually means more free throws and leniency in physical play, which is considered normal. However, directly sending a foreign player back to the locker room due to double standards in refereeing is unacceptable.
Additionally, before Ferguson completed the game-winning shot, he hit Liu Zheng's face while receiving the ball. Wasn't that an offensive foul by Ferguson? Liu Zheng fell, and according to the referee's standards, honestly, Ferguson also committed an offensive foul. If your foreign player can be called for it, why can't Ferguson?
Including after Wells missed a layup, Li Xiaoxu went up to grab the offensive rebound and pushed Wilson out of bounds while fighting for the ball, yet the referee blew the whistle for Shanghai going out of bounds. Wasn't that a pushing foul by Li Xiaoxu? Pushing someone out can also be called for grabbing the ball? This non-foul call is really exaggerated.
What's terrifying is not just the six controversial whistles given by the referees. It's that two sets of rules were used in one game. Bradso's dive was indeed a dive, and being ejected was within the rules. However, when Liaoning players made the same action, shouldn't it also be considered a dive? CCTV5 broadcasted the game live, and the referees blew the whistle too harshly. Judging from this game alone, the referees may have wanted to win more than Liaoning did.