There will be no Azerbaijani referees officiating the upcoming FIBA 3x3 Basketball World Cup Qualifiers, which will take place in Baku on May 24–25.
Idman.biz reports that this was confirmed by Alakbar Hasanov, Chairman of the Referee Committee of the Azerbaijan Basketball League, in a statement to Report. He noted that although two Azerbaijani referees, including himself and Ruslan Khaligov, once held valid licenses for officiating 3x3 games, those certifications are no longer active.
“We obtained our licenses during the 2015 European Games in Baku,” Hasanov explained. “However, since we haven’t been assigned to matches for 5–6 years, we did not apply for renewal.”
The list of international referees for the Baku qualifiers will be announced one week before the event.
Meanwhile, Azerbaijan’s women’s national team has been placed in Group B alongside Canada and Great Britain. The men’s team will face Latvia and Egypt in their group matches.
Idman.biz
