Maierhofer fined for ‘shoe-palpal’ incident

RICO Maierhoffer of Barako Bull finds good use for his shoe, using it to thwart an attempt by San Miguel Beer’s Gabby Espinas. AUGUST DELA CRUZ

The law has been laid down.
Rico Maierhofer has been fined P20,000 by the Office of the Commissioner after further review regarding the said act as “blatant misconduct that disrespects/mocks the game and unprofessional in nature.”
The Barako Bull big man appeared before Salud on Friday afternoon and explained his side on why he tried to block Gabby Espinas’ shot attempt in the second quarter of the San Miguel – Barako Bull game on Wednesday.

READ: For using shoe to block shot, Maierhofer summoned by PBA | Maierhofer: Trying to block ball with shoe ‘smart’ move, not embarrassing
The statement from the Office of the Commissioner reads:
“Present game rules are broad enough to cover the act of Rico Maierhofer. While not among those acts specifically prohibited by existing rules, said act can be considered to be in breach of the general conduct of games. Hence, it can be classified as a technical foul for using a foreign object as an aid in performing an offensive or defensive move.
“More importantly, it is viewed by this Office as blatant misconduct that disrespects/mocks the game and unprofessional in nature. Mr. Maierhofer is hereby fined the amount of twenty thousand pesos (P 20,000.00).”
Officials have deemed that the referees could have called Maierhofer a technical foul during the game, as no specific provision in the PBA rulebook covers the said incident. IDL