Luol Deng voices concern over large foul discrepancy against South Sudan, says Olympics need African referee representation

Just a week or two removed from pushing Team USA to the brink in an Olympics tune-up game, South Sudan‘s run at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games has come to an end, though an end not without a little controversy.

South Sudan fell to Serbia 96-85 on Saturday, ending group play with four points and a 1-2 record. But there was one line on the stat sheet that immediately jumped out to South Sudan’s coach and its basketball president following the game against Serbia: the free-throw line. Serbia shot 31 free throws, compared to just six for South Sudan.

“If that game is fair right there, we have a better chance,” said Luol Deng, the South Sudan basketball president.

Added the team’s coach, Royal Ivey:

“I need an answer. Explain it to me. I’m baffled. … I’m not one to complain or bicker about calls and stuff. But this was blatant.”

Deng also suggested that the foul discrepancy was deliberate, and then asked why there was no representation from African referees at the Paris Olympic Games.

In any case, South Sudan’s surge has been noteworthy. The country only officially became one in 2011, making South Sudan the youngest nation in the competition. And already the squad held its own against some of the more traditional powers in the sport.

It did so despite Deng footing the bill for virtually the entire program. The former NBA star has been active in his country’s rise.

“When I took over as the president of basketball federation in South Sudan, the idea came as nobody was there to take the position,” Deng said. “And I knew the potential of what we can do in basketball.

“So when I took over, there was no funding. There’s really, nobody had the vision of, that South Sudan would be capable of going to the World Cup, that we’d have an opportunity to play in the Olympics, even play in AfroBasket. For our people back home that didn’t exist. That would take crazy amount of work to achieve that. I believe otherwise. I really believed that we had the talent.”

After the run at the Olympics, few are doubting that South Sudan has the talent to compete. That’s a testament to Deng’s belief and the work he put in to make it all happen.

It’s a shame the country’s exit from the Olympics will be marred by questions about the foul discrepancy, but that shouldn’t take away from the achievement of making it to the Olympics and competing well.

“I believe that we are one of the best teams in Africa,” Deng said. “I believe that we can dominate in basketball just like how Kenya dominates in track and field, just like Ethiopia does or just like Jamaica does in sprinting.

“So I decided to put my money where my mouth is and really fund it to just show people that we can, you know, be out there and we can be as good as everyone. And when we did that, the players and everybody in my federation really surprised me by what we were able to accomplish.”