Foul or no foul? Experts explain controversial Barcelona vs. Real game call / News - Basketnews.com

The recent El Clasico was marked by a controversial call that sparked a big discussion between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid fans.

Barcelona center Sertac Sanli sent the game to overtime with a free throw with 0.8 seconds to play in the regulation.

Barcelona were down by one (88-89) when Vincent Poirier fouled Sanli, fighting for a rebound.

Pablo Laso couldn't believe it. He was clapping ironically towards the referees for the decision that decided the game. Seconds ago, Nigel Hayes-Davis missed a crucial 3-pointer that could have saved Barcelona, and the Real frontcourt was in a position to grab the ball and victory at Palau.

But the off-ball foul was called, Sanli made one of two free throws, and Barcelona won the game in overtime 108-97.

"They showed me a screenshot. I can't say much more. From the screenshot, it looks like Sanli's foul," Laso later said in the press conference.

Poirier shared the screenshot on Twitter straight after the game.

"How can referees influence the game in that way!" the former Real Madrid player Andres Nocioni shared his disappointment.

When Sanli tried to crash the board for an offensive rebound, he quickly locked Poirier's arm. Afterward, Poirier locked his arm too, as the ball bounced off the rim in the opposite direction.

Sanli couldn't jump high enough for a rebound, and the referee called a holding foul on Real's big man.

BasketNews discussed this episode with the president of the Lithuanian referees association Kestutis Pilipauskas who explained the whole situation in detail.

"Sanli was the first to grab Poirier's hand. He was the first to lock his arm, and he has initiated the situation," Pilipauskas explained. "I believe referees have noticed only the second arm lock, and they decided based on that."

We should split this whole call into two parts.

According to Pilipauskas, if the decision was taken based on the second phase of the contact, the referees made the right call.

An unwritten rule says that if both players hold each other, the ball's direction usually decides the foul. If the player who has more chances to grab the ball jumps while the opponent holds his arm, that's a foul.

"If we rule out the first contact of Sanli, the decision was good," Pilipauskas confirmed.

However, he added that referees should have identified the first phase of the situation. If that's the case, that was a foul on Sanli.

Pilipauskas explained that the situation was very complicated.

"Everybody was concentrated on the last shot of Nigel Hayes-Davis. Also, the first phase of the contact was in the lower part of the action. That was the off-ball situation, so it was a justified human error," Pilipauskas summarized.

BasketNews also discussed this call with other referees with the highest level of officiating experience who shared their views anonymously.

They suggest that it could have been approached as a no-call situation too. Neither Poirier nor Sanli had a real chance to grab the rebound from their perspective. Since both players locked each other, referees could have let the shot clock run down.

Real's forward Guerschon Yabusele already had a ball in his hands before the whistle.

"We have controlled what has been in our hands. I'm very proud of everything we have done," Walter Tavares later replied to Poirier's tweet.

After the El Clasico win, Barcelona made a huge step forward in securing the home-court advantage for the Spanish league playoffs.

Barca lead the Liga Endesa with 22-5. Real follow second with 19-8.

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