Team Japan's Rui Hachimura Absurdly Ejected From Game, Sparking Suspicions Over Lousy Officiating

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Basketball officiating at the Olympics hit a new low on Tuesday after a questionable flagrant was called on Team Japan forward Rui Hachimura.

Hachimura, who plays for the Los Angeles Lakers, left early in a matchup against Team France after his second "flagrant" of the day featured a light swipe at French center Rudy Gobert. 

Japan's Rui Hachimura (L) challenges France's Mathias Lessort in the men's preliminary round group B basketball match between Japan and France during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Pierre-Mauroy stadium in Villeneuve-d'Ascq on July 30, 2024. (Photo by Denis CHARLET / AFP) (Photo by DENIS CHARLET/AFP via Getty Images)

The Japanese player was also assigned a flagrant earlier in the game for bumping into a player from Team France during a drive to the basket.

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Team France certainly benefited from Hachimura's exit. France went on to win by a slim margin in overtime, 94-90.

Hachimura led a furious comeback, helping Japan reduce a second-half deficit to two points before being ejected. He exited the game after scoring 24 points in 28 minutes, making 10 of 16 shots from the field. 

By most viewers' estimation, the officials robbed Team Japan. 

Fans grew upset over the shameless ‘biased’ officiating working against Hachimura and quickly resorted to questioning the integrity of the host country's refs.

A commenter on X reacted, "First they took out Rui Hachimura and then the phantom foul at the end before overtime, kinda fishy ... go check if the refs are getting paid."

Japan's Rui Hachimura leaves the court after being sent off for committing successive unsporting fouls in the men's preliminary round group B basketball match between Japan and France during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Pierre-Mauroy stadium in Villeneuve-d'Ascq on July 30, 2024. (Photo by Thomas COEX / AFP) (Photo by THOMAS COEX/AFP via Getty Images)

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