During Spain’s Olympic quarter final defeat of France, things got nasty toward the end after Nicolas Batum flew in for this international foul punch on Juan Carlos Navarro.
Moments earlier, Rudy Fernandes had been intentionally fouled by Ronnie Turiaf, diving to the floor in pain – many thought he flopped.
After the game, a journalist asked Batum why he punched Navarro, his response? “I wanted to give him a good reason to flop.”
I asked Nicolas Batum why he hit Juan-Carlos Navarro in the groin. “I wanted to give him a good reason to flop,” Batum said.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) August 8, 2012
How he didn’t get ejected, I do not know.
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{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }
testicle foul
Great job. When Basketball players act like football players they need to be brought down a peg or two. Pity the referees lost control. Spain were awful. Hope USA Nigeriate them!
THe referees lost control? The French guy lost control and the referees lost the sense of ethics in sport, more like. Spain were no worse than France, they were actually much better, for starters they won the match and they didn´t try to break anyone´s…testicles.
Oh come on… what were you watching. Dont let your support for a team cloud the issue. I am Welsh. I have no bias. See through yours and tell your player to Man Up!
Navarro overreact much… this ain’t football
So, you guys are up for violence in sports or what? Flopping might not be that good, but being violent should really be punished. To me the French player should be banned and fined. Or else we can make up a new game where that sort of thing is allowed. Go home France!!!
erm…if the French players can´t take a defeat, they really should think of planting potatoes or sth which does not imply competitiveness. The rules are there for everybody, if they can´t abide by them, they really should quit. Nasty, nasty, nasty French..erm…players? No, I´ll try again: punching losers! lol
I´ve seen the video of the punch again, and it really makes me puke!! I can´t understand why people try to justify that kind of thing, and I can´t understand why the French guy didn´t get expelled from the game, and I won´t understand if there are not serious consequences for that guy. He should be banished from the sport, seriously. Violence cannot be allowed in any kind shape or form. Yuk!!!!!!! What kind of example is this guy setting for the youth? Unbelievable. Unsportive. Unethical.
And finally, he hardly touched him, was making a play for the basketball and the Spanish had been whining all game so it was hard to see whether this was even more play acting or a chance to have a rest. The Spanish cheated throughout. Navarro got his, he need to grow a pair! He obviously needs them if he really got hit there. BATOOOM!
He twitted after the game it was intentional this is a horrible thing to the sport. would of been fine with a foul but a closed fist is not the answer. This is at least a flagrant foul number 2.
And Spain wasn’t winning the whole game they came out in the third and scraped back the lead on horrible plays made by France with Parker throwing up threes for no reason. France was frustrated but this is unacceptable.
GO USA
WHINING as in constantly bitching and complaining and moaning and CHEATING!
Nice hit I liked what he did Spain cheated man and he was right to foul him hard I say if your going go out with a BANG and for those who don’t like it well switch to a different sport like Equestrian or the swimming your free to use the red button
Yes it was a hard foul, yes he shouldn’t have closed his fist BUT Spain were a massive let down with their constant flopping and moaning. Slightest touch and they were rolling around like they had been shot football style. Rudy Fernandez in particular was selling injuries better than a wwe wrestler.
I like Spain and have always enjoyed watching them, but they seemed to have a developed an ugly side to their game.constantly flopping,bitching and moaning like a bunch of spoiled kids.
This is probably one of the last competitions this Spanish team will play together.
They have all been together for many years now and have grown up together, quite a few of them being family friends.
Spain will now have to start rebuilding, as is Serbia, ready for future tournaments, but, given the standard of Spanish basketball, I am sure it will not be too long before they are competing at the top again.
I agree Rudy did make a meal of it but thats no reason for retaliation from France. You have to be the bigger person in this situation. Batum should be suspended for the next game. We don’t want this sport turning into football with fighting on the court and in the stands.
If you take that stand then at least 3 Spanish players brought the game into disrepute. Do we suspend them and send a message to the cheats? Just because Batum was more overt in his actions who is to judge which actions were worse? Spain let the game down, whereas Batum maybe let himself down, but his was an instinctive act, not the planned petulance of the Spaniards. Their constant bitching at the referees just wore them down in the end. I think if anything, it is the referees who need to be looked at. They were weak and indifferent to Spains anti basketball.
I 100% agree Spain are big time cheats if this football then Spain showed that they played the dark art of basketball by diving and cheating the referee into changing there normal foul call into an unsportsmanlike foul just like when football players roll around on the floor then ask for the other player to be booked.
I say the spain player deserved much than that… flopping to the degree they do it and bitch to the refs about it are through the roof. I don’t see a difference to what batuum and the spain players did. like batuum said he was going to give them something to flop about. I mean either the spain players are soft as hell or they are very very very good actors. The players from argentina like ginobli (ir however you spell it) is good at these antics also. Its up to the refs to not call that crap but I say if you gonna do some very dishonest stuff (like constant flopping) then you deserve whatever you get… I say the spain player got off easy. Bump all that unsportsman like conduct because if thats the case then spain had started it with flopping. Believe it or not constant flopping is very unsportsmanlike (i.e. that flop on the sidelines on the unsportsmanlike foul occured when the player actually made a play for the ball and whoever that was flew up in the air and hit the ground like he was hit by a mack truck). The order of blame: 1-the refs (they can chose not to call that bs, 2-the spain players, 3-batuum for losing his cool.
Batum’s retaliation was not just provoked by the ridiculous flopping of the Spanish team in the match. The original foul by France was to stop the clock it was not dangerous but due to the Spanish player’s reverse back summersault it therefore became a dangerous foul, 2 free-throws & ball back (game over) but there was already history. The Spanish had used the same tactics in a “friendly“match with France before the Olympics.
Then add onto that the flopping of the whole Spanish team in their match against Brazil (see final quarter score) so they would avoid USA in the draw (if they were badminton players they would have been sent home THEN, not in the Olympic spirit not trying).
I was at the match & at times I questioned whether I was at the right venue some of the diving of the Spanish team would have given Tom Daley a run for his money in the aquatic centre. After the foul Rudy Fernandes was removed from the arena due to the “seriousness” of the injury, in fact I think it was for his own safety. What happened in the Final against USA surprise surprise Lazarus Fernandes rose from the dead to flop again & the Spanish again continued flopping but 10 out of 10 for coach K for controlling his team, there was a Batum type queue building (fouls to be used up).
Should Batum be suspended, yes & I think he would gladly accept it if it stops the ridiculous diving which currently seems to be accepted by the referees. If you want a master class on it watch Juan Carlos Navarro in the Euroleague next year, he is a 10 metre board expert.
Why do Spain need to do this they have the players, or is it just an old team holding onto past glory?
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