SINGAPORE – A Singaporean player has been banned for two years for punching a referee during a Major Basketball League (MBL) match between Singapore’s Adroit and Brunei’s Pegasus in Malaysia on Saturday.
The Singaporean side were leading 91-78 in Batu Pahat with less than 90 seconds on the clock when Adroit guard Poh Wei Hao clattered into Pegasus guard Lee Jia Jun.
Poh, 29, was sent off after he was ruled to have committed a second flagrant foul during the game. Initially, he was seen to be walking away from the scene, before he appeared to turn back to plead his case with referee Joeseph Ho.
The official remained unmoved, and even though Poh was restrained by another referee, the player continued to remonstrate, before punching Ho in the face.
Poh, a former Singapore Under-18 3x3 player who represented the nation at the 2011 3x3 Youth World Championships, was then held back by teammate Tim Waale.
Play was suspended for around 12 minutes, before the game resumed and was completed as Adroit won 93-82.
In a statement on its Facebook page on Sunday, the MBL said it has suspended Poh for two years and imposed a RM10,000 (S$3,100) fine on his team.
It added: “Major Basketball League would also like to reiterate our commitment to the technical committee and will take all the necessary steps to protect the interest and safety of all referees at all times.
“Our league will not condone, accept or tolerate any ill-will and/or violent conduct of any player or team against our league-appointed referees.
“Referees, being part of basketball, must be protected and fully respected at all times.”
In a separate MBL post on Sunday, Ho and Poh were photographed shaking hands on Saturday night after the incident was “resolved peacefully”.
Adroit coach Chan Sian Gay and Poh had apologised to Ho, who “was gracious enough to accept it and let bygones be bygones”, said the league in the post.
Chan told The Straits Times that the club had taken immediate action against Poh after a Zoom meeting – he has been suspended for three months and fined $5,000. He will also be sent for counselling and anger management lessons.
He added: “We don’t condone any form of violence, and once Wei Hao punched the referee, he was in the wrong.
“After the incident, I asked the league organisers to arrange a meeting with the referee because I wanted Wei Hao to apologise face to face. I also apologised because I didn’t take my player in hand well, and Adroit offered to pay for any form of medical expenses necessary.
“We met the referee in a league meeting again on Friday and agreed that both parties have learnt from the incident and we should move on.”
The MBL is a newly launched professional men’s league that takes place from Nov 16 to Dec 18.
After the Kuala Lumpur and Batu Pahat circuits, Adroit are third out of six teams with three wins and four losses. Johor Southern Tigers are top with six wins and one loss.
The third and final circuit of the regular season began in Penang on Friday and end on Sunday, after which the top four will advance to the play-off semi-finals.
Adroit are one of Singapore’s top semi-professional basketball teams. They finished second in the 2022 National Basketball League behind Eng Tat Hornets.
Their current roster includes numerous former Singapore Slingers players such as Wong Wei Long, Russel Low, Leon Kwek, Mitchell Folkoff, Desmond Oh, Wu Qingde and Toh Qing Huang, although they did not travel for the game against Pegasus.
