By Alex Madrid/ info@eurohoops.net
While the meeting with the press had as the main subject the upcoming game against Bayern Munich, Real Madrid coach Pablo Laso was asked about the Copa Del Rey final and Real Madrid’s complain about the referees.
Laso gave a lengthy answer, in which he insists that Real Madrid got the short end of the stick in the final, when he was asked on the matter: “Look, I’m going to answer, I’m going to stretch out a little longer than would be necessary but after this answer, I’m not going to talk about it again. I think that there is very little to say about the last play. It was said in the press conference, something that was clear to everyone and that doesn’t need any discussion. There is something that has been said a lot: human mistakes. I’m the first one that understands human mistakes. We are all human beings and we make mistakes. Human mistakes are more than acceptable. By referees and by players. I would like to tell my players ‘every time you shoot, make the basket’. And they can fail. When you talk to a referee, they tell you that they can have mistakes. I accept it, basketball is a game that includes right decisions and mistakes. This is totally understandable, and whoever does not want to understand it, doesn’t see much basketball. But if we can consider the last play a human mistake… for me the last play wasn’t a human mistake“.
Real Madrid believes that the instant replay was not used the right way and Laso repeated: “A Copa del Rey final was decided on a play with tenths of a second left in a situation in which all the resources that are placed in the hands of the referees weren’t used. As far as I know, we have not received any explanation on this subject. […]. I’m glad that there is this atmosphere at the press conference to talk about basketball. What I’m not happy about, it’s that most of you are here because of the embarrassment of the last play. A competition that is seen in 120 countries and that is decided like that, personally, I think it’s not good for basketball. I would like to talk about the greatness of this sport but, unfortunately, this level of attraction is generated by a play that, in the end, makes us all ashamed. About the club’s position, I do not have much to say. There is an official statement from the club that represents us all, so I do not have much to say. It’s very clear”.