He should reap a nice fine. It must be said that the North American basketball league sanctions any criticism made publicly of officials. Rudy Gobert knows it, which did not prevent him from severely criticizing the referees. The French pivot of the Timberwolves, 30, denounced an alleged favoritism on the part of the referees towards the major teams of the NBA, where the stars play.
“It’s crap. It’s shit. It is not fair. It’s really not fair, “said Gobert, very upset Thursday night after Minnesota’s defeat at the Phoenix Suns (100-107), marked by a disparity in free throws allowed (27 for the Suns against 12 for the Timberwolves).
” It’s a lack of respect “
“It’s like that every night, says the player of the France team. I’ve been in this league for ten years and I always try to give the benefit of the doubt, but it’s hard for me to think that they didn’t try to help them win. I find it hard to believe they didn’t try to help the Warriors (outgoing champions) win the other night or the Kings. It’s so obvious. As a basketball player who’s been in this league for so long, it’s a lack of respect. »
The one who was named best defender in the championship three times (2018, 2019, 2021), when he played in Utah, pressed where it hurts: “We work so hard to be able to compete with the best, and we get caught in these situations which have too great an impact on the other team’s game. They know how. They do it in different ways. Tonight was another way to do it. »
Rudy Gobert was penalized with five fouls against the Suns, including two offensives on screens deemed illegal, at the very end of the game, which annihilated as many possessions of his team to pick up the score. “Gobzilla” is far from the first to harshly criticize the referees. The leader of Toronto, Fred VanVleet, or the coach of Phoenix, Monty Williams, have not hesitated to do so in recent days. Minnesota currently sits 7th in the Western Conference.
