UP taps ‘referee-consultants’ to observe crucial game vs La Salle

University of the Philippines has no plans of leaving anything to chance ahead of the Fighting Maroons’ all-important clash with the De La Salle Green Archers on Wednesday.

Atty. Agaton Uvero, chairman of nowheretogobutUP Foundation, said his group will be tapping the services of veteran referees to oversee the game and provide “an objective assessment” of the officiating.

“Admittedly, it is hard not to be biased in the heat of the moment. These referee-consultants will help us better appreciate the calls, help us better determine if the officiating is fair or not,” said Uvero.

“All we want is for the boys to have a fair shake. Let them play, let them decide who wins and who does not. Not the referees.”

Uvero added that the move is to ensure a fairly-officiated game that won’t be decided by the referees and prevent a repeat of last year’s controversial Final Four duel between La Salle and Adamson where the Green Archers were called for only 12 fouls as compared to the Falcons’ 33. The referees of that game won by La Salle were eventually suspended.

“We just want a game that will be decided by the performances of the players, not by the whistles of the referees. We do not want a repeat of the past, another scenario wherein poor officiating can influence the outcome of the game,” he stressed.

A win by UP over La Salle earns itself the No. 3 spot while a loss puts itself on the verge of missing the Final Four with a Far Eastern University win over No. 2 Adamson giving the Tamaraws the fourth spot.

A loss by UP and FEU, however will pit the two against each other in a playoff for the last semifinals slot.