Former EuroLeague official Sreten Radovic has spoken about the challenges facing basketball referees, arguing that their overall performance is frequently overlooked when individual mistakes attract public attention.
Radovic, who concluded his 30-year refereeing career following last season’s EuroLeague final, remains president of the Union of EuroLeague Basketball Officials (UEBO).
Discussing the standard of officiating, he described the EuroLeague as one of basketball’s most demanding competitions, highlighting the quality of its participants, passionate supporters and importance of individual games.
Radovic also provided an example of how refereeing performances can be judged differently from those of players and coaches.
“But context is important. A game in which the referees make 12 mistakes would normally be described as a poorly officiated game. What many people may not realise is that each referee makes approximately 200 decisions during a game, around 600 decisions for the officiating crew as a whole. If 12 of those decisions are incorrect, the crew is still 98% accurate.”
While accepting that significant errors deserve scrutiny, he distinguished constructive analysis from automatically blaming officials for unfavorable results.
“Referees should absolutely be accountable for their decisions, but accountability and scapegoating are not the same thing. Responsible criticism helps officiating improve; automatic blame after every loss does not.”
Radovic also discussed the growing influence of technology, noting that modern broadcasts offer numerous camera angles unavailable to referees making split-second decisions on the court.
He welcomed technological assistance for objective situations, including boundary calls, timing and shot values, but cautioned against excessive video reviews that could interrupt the game.
As UEBO president, Radovic intends to continue improving working conditions and communication between officials, clubs, coaches and players. The organization has recently signed a new collective agreement with EuroLeague Basketball.
He also identified public education as a priority, with UEBO planning to use social media to provide greater insight into officiating decisions and the challenges referees encounter during games.
