Coach Andrea Trinchieri expressed his exhaustion and frustration with the EuroLeague referees, stating, "I'm extremely tired. And my players are tired, too."
Zalgiris Kaunas lost a EuroLeague Round 26 thriller against EA7 Emporio Armani Milan, 87-89, at home, and once again, the spotlight fell on the referees after this crucial game for play-in or playoff positioning.
After the loss, coach Andrea Trinchieri was asked about some questionable calls during crunch time that prompted the Zalgirio Arena to erupt in a chant of "F**k you, referees."
"I put some objective facts on the table. Lithuanian basketball fans are polite. I don't see or hear usually something what I saw, I heard tonight. And it was 15,000 people," Trinchieri touched on officiating during the post-game conference.
| Player of the Game | |
|
EFF
36
|
| Zach LeDay | |
| Points | 26 |
| Accuracy | 6-11 |
| Rebounds | 5 |
| Assists | 0 |
"And the second thing I'm asking the favor because I'm extremely tired, and I'm asking your opinion about that. Because I don't have words to express my opinion."
He then turned to a journalist to discuss the controversial calls, who agreed that the referees had made mistakes.
"I'm extremely tired. And my players are tired, too," Trinchieri continued. "In the first half, no free throws. We were attacking. ... Another thing is that it's extremely complicated to communicate with the referees. ... I'm drained. I'm drained, and I see these things happening often, not only in our games."
This season, Trinchieri has repeatedly taken jabs at refs but also stated that his players need to do a better job of demonstrating contact to draw fouls.
"We have to get better. But whenever we try, they cut our heads," Trinchieri said. "I believe that the standard of officiating one game is the most important thing, more than a single call. Referees are like players and coaches. They make mistakes. But there is one big thing.
"I have an opponent coach, and my players have an opponent player. Who's their opponent? ... I believe that the standard is the most important thing, and for my players, for myself, and for my team, it's a little bit difficult to navigate this."
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