A giant screen is set on the sideline to play videos of fans watching the CBA games online. Photo: VCG

Photo：Lu Wenao/Global Times

 
Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) chiefs called for more understanding toward refereeing in the basketball league, after recent incidents raised eyebrows among fans.

In respond to a recent controversy involving referees, Yao Ming, president of the CBA, noted that referees have to make a call in a flash as actions on the court vary.

"Everyone wants the referees to be 100 percent correct in every match but it is impossible to make no mistakes in such a short time," Yao told reporters in a media briefing on December 19 in Beijing.

In recent cases, fans have chosen social media to vent their dissatisfaction and disappointment in the CBA referees, while Nanjing Monkey Kings club owner Chen Guangchuan went even further, confronting the referees after the club's 115-112 defeat to the Guangzhou Loong Lions. 

The officials at the media briefing did not comment on individual cases.

Similar to putting pressure on referees, English Premier League soccer club Manchester City were fined 120,000 pounds ($151,740) by the Football Association, England's soccer governing body, after the City players surrounded referee Simon Hooper during the team's dramatic 3-3 draw against Tottenham Hotspur in the English Premier League on December 3.

The CBA has also introduced an appeal mechanism for clubs' concerning referees' provisional decisions. 

As of December 17, the women's top-tier league WCBA had received four cases of penalty objections submitted by clubs which have all been resolved. However, no club in the men's league have submitted objection appeals, according to Lu Yongming, vice chief of the referees committee under the CBA. 

Since 2022, the league has also started referee promotion and relegation procedures based on individual performance in domestic matches. 

A total of 29 referees have been promoted to the top-tier league in the past two years, while 24 others have been relegated, figures released by the CBA on Tuesday showed.

"The promotion and relegation mechanism has effectively incentivized young referees to work hard to improve their abilities and enter higher level tournaments, and has also effectively limited the number of referees who have been resting on their laurels in the league for years," Lu told reporters. 

"This mechanism is supported by the majority of referees, but those who have been relegated, especially those who have been eliminated, also have voiced different opinions."

Several basketball commentators have voiced support for hiring skilled foreign referees in the Chinese basketball league. It remains unknown if their suggestion has been taken into consideration.