Shark Fan Allegedly Punches Referee

It was a brutal end of a basketball game in Shanghai on April 9th. The Shanghai Sharks lost to the Guangdong Tigers 94-96. Following the game, the fans did not hold back their displeasure and began throwing beverages and whatever else was on hand on to the court, the refs and the players.

The fans were upset due to the fact that the Tiger’s key player, Smush ParkerSmush ParkerSmush ParkerSmush ParkerSmush Parker, after rebounding his own missed shot scored the winning basket the second time around. The ball hit the backboard just as the buzzer went off and then swiftly sunk through the basket. A few seconds prior to the final basket, a Shark's player had made a clean block, but the referees called a foul giving the Tigers an extra two free throws which were both missed but which made time even more scarce. Shark fans were furious about this apparant bad call and at losing this 09/10 CBA semi-final game.

Seen yelling in the picture above, the Sharks American coach’s argument in English to a Chinese ref seemed to fall on deaf ears. After the game, the coach said the reason they lost had nothing to do with one questionable call. “We had 32 turnovers, that’s why we lost the game,” commented head coach Bob Donewald Jr.

The Shanghai Sharks may be the most famous basketball team in China due to the fact that they were the training ground for China’s most famous basketball star, Yao MingYao MingYao MingYao MingYao Ming. Yao Ming played for the Sharks until 2002 when he left for the USA and the NBA. After hearing the Sharks were having financial problems, Yao Ming bought the team in 2009. "I grew up in the city and became a professional player in this team, so I hope I can do something to help," Yao said during an interview for Shanghai TV.

The fans were so dangerous after the game, one of them jumped on to the court from the stands and punched a referee. The fan did not know this referee had not actually made any calls during this game, but as a result the Sharks team, or rather Yao Ming, could face a fine of up to 160,000 RMB (about $23,000 US). Forty minutes after the game finished a large mob still lingered yelling “bad call, bad call!”. Out of fear, the Guangdong team had to be escorted in secret to another side of the stadium with guarded protection.

After watching footage of the game, Yao Ming mentioned he agreed it was a bad call and that the block was a clean one. He also expressed sadness over losing but still was proud of his team. No comment on whether or not he was proud of his team’s unruly fans.

Video of some of the mayhem can be seen here: http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMTY0MDc3MDky.html