TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A Super Basketball League (SBL) game between Taiwan Beer and Changhua Pauian BLL ended in a forfeit after a disputed call led Taiwan Beer’s assistant coach Ha Hsiao-yuan (哈孝遠) to storm onto the court and order his team to leave the game with 6 minutes and 27 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.
Referees later ruled that Taiwan Beer had forfeited the game.
On Sunday, the SBL issued a press release announcing Taiwan Beer had been fined NT$600,000 (US$18,116) for forfeiting the game, in accordance with league regulations. The statement added that failure to pay the fine would have barred the team from future competition. Taiwan Beer paid the fine that day, per CNA.
The incident took place at Keelung Municipal Gymnasium, with Taiwan Beer trailing 65-78. After a foul was called on Yang Tian-you (楊天佑) at the three-point line and a technical foul was assessed against Tseng Pin-fu (曾品富), Ha erupted in anger and confronted the referees. He was restrained by coaching staff and players before ordering his team to return to the locker room.
Officials then announced that if Taiwan Beer did not return to the court within one minute, the game would be ruled a forfeit. When the team did not reappear, the win was awarded to Changhua Pauian BLL.
Taiwan Beer head coach Liu Meng-chu (劉孟竹) told CNA the officiating had been questionable since the first quarter. He said that upon entering the locker room, his assistant coach offered to bring five players back to the court, only to find the referees had already declared the forfeit. Liu said he was surprised it “happened so fast.”
The SBL noted the league is guided and subsidized by the Ministry of Education’s Sports Administration. Any actions that seriously affect the league’s image or harm the interests of fans and sponsors will be punished, it added. Verbal abuse or disorderly behavior toward referees or staff during or after a game may also result in disciplinary action.
The league reminded teams that any dissatisfaction with officiating should be addressed through formal complaint procedures.
