Luol Deng points fingers at officials for South Sudan's loss to Serbia citing absence of African referees in Olympics

South Sudan Basketball Federation President Luol Deng expressed his frustration with the officiating following their 11-point defeat to Serbia on Saturday, which ended their 2024 Paris Olympics campaign.

Despite outshooting Serbia in both field goals (33-32) and 3-pointers (14-11), South Sudan faced a significant disparity in free throw attempts. Serbia had 31 attempts, making 21, whereas South Sudan only attempted six and converted five.

Luol Deng attributed this disparity to the absence of African referees, suggesting it forced the Olympics to adopt a European style of play.

"I don't know why there's no African referees in the Olympics," he said.

“If these referees aren't familiar with our game or our style, then I don't know what the World Championship or Olympics is. Is it just a European basketball style and we're not allowed to be aggressive?”

South Sudan also experienced a free throw discrepancy in their July 31 game against Team USA, going 11-for-12 compared to Team USA's 16-for-20 in their 103-86 defeat.

The closest South Sudan came to parity was on July 28 against Puerto Rico, where both teams made 14 free throws. However, Puerto Rico had 24 attempts, nine more than South Sudan's 15.

How Luol Deng spearheaded South Sudan’s basketball program

South Sudan's remarkable journey to the Olympics, securing a spot as Africa’s highest-ranked team in the World Cup, is largely due to the efforts of Luol Deng, the former NBA All-Star.

Luol Deng played at Duke before being drafted seventh overall by Chicago in 2004. He played in the NBA until 2019.

Since becoming the president of the South Sudan Basketball Federation in 2019, Deng has been instrumental in advancing the nation’s basketball program on the international stage.

Deng's involvement began after South Sudan gained independence in 2011. He committed to developing basketball in his homeland to foster unity and national pride.

In an interview with CNN Sports, Deng shared how he unified the team.

“I’ve known a lot of these players since they were so young, and I’ve kept up with a lot of other players that I didn’t know, but they were on my radar,” he explained.

“And before I took over as president of the federation, I did imagine, ‘What if those guys committed to play for our nation?’ And this is the result because it’s all come together.”

Although South Sudan did not secure an Olympic medal, Luol Deng's leadership and personal financial support have been crucial in their historic achievement as the youngest nation to qualify for the Olympics.