Squash Let-NoLet-Stroke : Cameron Pilley vs Borja Golan

[korsow57]

guys,

am shocked that this clip, after 4 yrs!!, is still being discussed. have been reading all the comments, and have to say, was more shocked by the stupidity of some arguements! like: racket 18 inches away from his head, how do you measure that on a screen? or: i have reffed 250+ matches on psa level. so? does that make you an expert? you all are not watching! just look at borja's initial shaping on his forehandside and then changing to bh, that is all you need to see. ciao!

[adissad]

Yes let. He couldn't see Pilley, so it's a safety let.

Huntrichardson was right until his last sentence - what point it is has no bearing on a call.

[Alebal2010]

Rule 13.1.2 applies here: "The player refrains from hitting the ball onto any of the walls......owing to a reasonable fear of injuring the opponent". YES LET.

If ones disagrees with it, next time please take opponent's place instead and ask the player to hit the ball "with a reasonable swing", and wait to see what happens......

[nwlovell]

Good call. No Let.  He was clear.

[jaenicky2147]

Golan was fishing for a stroke on a match ball but Pilley was smart and was completely out of the way. Good call from the referee.

[TheDarthex]

No let. There was no effort made. He just lifted the racket up. Maybe if he had stepped back slightly it would h ave been a let, but he just raised it expecting the decision to go his way.

[huntrichardson]

Let. I've refereed the top players for 11 yrs, 250+ PSA, WISPA and WSF championship matches. This was RFOI. Reasonable for Golan to assume Pilley would move into his swing for a shot in the middle of the court where Golan was unsighted. Golan knew this was a totally incorrect call. look how he flings is racquet in disgust (for which he should have been reported to WSF for follow-up discipline :O) Plus - one shouldn't make a dodgy call like that on match ball.

[SquashReferee]

@huntrichardson at the time when Golan held his shot, there was no interference and the fear of injury was not reasonable as the striker judged the opponents position incorrectly. Whether or not it is the middle of the court is not relevant, it is a matter of fact around the strikers judgement. Pilley was WELL CLEAR and no let is the correct decision. Furthermore, to say "one shouldn't make a dodgy call like that on match ball," is concerning - that it is match ball is not relevant.

[huntrichardson]

@SquashReferee Golan guessed correctly that Pilley would move toward him. At 1:04 P's head is 18 inches from the tip of G’s racket. At high tempo on a loose shot at match ball Golan played it safe. 18 inches is close enough. Having refereed all the top players (10 yrs) & been trained and assessed by the world's top referees & assessors (20 years) i’ve learned not to deny a let in this type of situation. Needs to be more obvious. This isn’t something you learn only by reading the rules.

[seshragtube]

@huntrichardson

You're absolutely right. This is a clear case of RFOI--the point is not that Pilley is clear of Golan's swing, but that he is too close to Golan's body for the latter to back away and create space for a reasonable swing. Safety should always be a referee's primary concern--he should not forget that Golan cannot see Pilley at the instant that he has to decide whether to play a shot, and cannot make an informed judgement about Pilley's position.

[SquashReferee]

13.1.2 The referee may allow a let if there is a reasonable fear of injury

(G7) No let shall be allowed if the striker judged the opponents position incorrectly.

In this case the striker misjudged the opponents position. Refer to earlier rallies to see that the opponent was clear of the strikers swing.

No Let is the correct decision. If you are still not happy, re-read the rules or purchase the WSF Calling the Shots DVD

[1stinkfist]

couldnt even see the damn ball!!

[SuperSquashguy]

Let. Fear of danger. If a stroke is asked and it is close to a stroke, it is against the rules to call a no let. It's always a let or stroke

[unibrook]

@SuperSquashguy

yeah, um riiiiiiiiiiight.  show me that "rule it is against to call a no let."

[raoultittel]

@SuperSquashguy

Wrong, its up to the ref and if there is no interference and he asks for a let it's not a let.

[raoultittel]

@SuperSquashguy

Wrong, its not always a let or a stroke, its up to the ref and if there is no interference and he asks for a let it's not a let.

[raoultittel]

@SuperSquashguy

Wrong, its not always a let or a stroke, its up to the ref and if there is no interference and he asks for a let it's not a let. Get yourself a copy of the rules or do a course on the rules of squash racquets or something.

[raoultittel]

@SuperSquashguy

Wrong, its not always a let or a stroke, its up to the ref and if there is no interference and he asks for a let it's not a let. Unobstructed direct access to the ball, freedom to hit the ball, a fair view of the ball, freedom to hit the ball directly to the front wall. He had all of these when the ball came within reach, no interference, no let.

[frozeddragon]

he should have at least be more prepared to hit and bump into him. could have even be stroke. i think?

[unibrook]

No let. pretty easy call.

[utrabbit007]

It is near impossible to judge cause the quality of this video is shocking. I think that it is a let because the dude in white is right on his back when the ball passes. However the dude in red did not help his case because he was stood upright like a been pole and was not demonstrating that he was ready to play the ball and showing that he needed space to play his shot.

[magix999]

no let for me

[khogilvy]

meh its a debatable call i guess, but i would have gone no let too, and it doesnt matter if its match ball or the first point of the match. golan probobly thought pilley was closer than he actually was and thought that a let was in order.

[Monkey200728]

@khogilvy shut up faggot. You don't even know how to play squash faggot.

[khogilvy]

oh so youve seen me play?

[pochita1978]

It's not a let. I call this speculation. There is no interference. Not a good idea in a match ball to speculate. You have to PLAY

[mccannsman]

wish more people saw this, i called no let in same situation. Golan was in no position to hit the ball when he asked for the let. Pilley didnt create the interference.

[90JEVANS90]

Cameron's ball was very loose... but there was no interference so "No Let!".

There is no way Golan would have ever hit Pilley. Pilley was only close to Golan once the ball had well passed Golan...

[cartheym]

shaping is not an attempt to play the ball, so that doesn't matter

on the backhand there was more than sufficent room to play the ball (have a look at an number of shots earlier in the rally to prove this) so there was no interference

as there was no interference there can be no stroke or let given - no let is the only reasonable call

Golan should also have been repremanded for throwing the racket - this sort of behaviour is risking keeping squash out of the Olympics - it's not welcome

[Monkey200728]

If Golan had volleyed that... Pilley would have got smacked! Bad call by the ref. People saying Golan is 'fishing'... I think he is just playing safe.

[skiddyb]

How come at the start of the video they were rubbing their scent on the court like a cat?

[Monkey200728]

Marking their territory...

[AbbeyRUE]

Easiest call I've ever made...NO LET!

[wsmvp22]

for safety sake...maybe a let? i think he may have thought cameron was in the way.

[maddafakka2]

Good referee, close to call but no let for sure!

[unibrook]

No let. No question about it.

[sammyisback]

i know camerons dad yamba yerr

[miffto]

yerr yamba is pretty kool...he also my dad hahah

[iamfozard]

nooooooooooooooooo let

[miffto]

well lucky they called no let because i dont see how that was anywhere near a let!

Cameron is my brother and im not just saying it because of him but he was in a silly place to even be thinking of a let...besides being matchball and running low on energy

[wsmvp22]

i say cameron is in the top ten by the end of this year.

[miffto]

i really hope so

[Tiagoluiscastro]

let

[SportMarc]

There were many situations in this match where Pilley was a lot closer to Golan and Golan played on. Borja was under big pressure (more than 39 seconds before serves!) and instincly though this was an easy way out.

[dan197929]

its got to be a let if he hit the ball his backswing would have hit his opponent in the head

[Monkey200728]

Exactly!! That's what I have been saying too! And they say Golan was "fishing"... more like he didn't feel like knocking Pilley's teeth or eyes out!

[korsow57]

Monkey, you are not watching! watch more carefully. after Cam's last shot you will see that Borja is shaping to his forehand (it is difficult to see, but it IS there!) and then he realises that the most likely position of Cam is on his backhand so he switches to his backhand for obvious reasons. a cheap stroke in this part of the game would be very welcome. unfortunately Cam is not where he was expected to be.... A real clever player then would have decided to play the ball after all, a deep BH!

[Braintjee]

it's definitely a let

[korsow57]

it is so easy to say: definately a let without saying why!if you look really close to the clip (that is an advantag ewe have, not the ref on site!) you can see his first movement is shaping his racket to his forehand. when he realise the ball is going down the middle where, normally, Pilley would appear he changes his movement to his backhand, hoping to catch pilley in his swing. DEFINATELY INTENTIONAL FISHING!! just a great call wich should be made more! tough luck it is on matchball!

[wsmvp22]

great call - i think when golan raises his racquet up to try to get the stroke, he shows everyone that there is no interference. this call should be made more often to discourage that move.

[Monkey200728]

Yes... but had he swung his folow through would have ended up in Pilley's face.

[Monkey200728]

Pretty poor sportsmanship by Pilley...

[Monkey200728]

Pilley should have 'over-ruled' the ref and they should have played a let. Golan would have nailed Pilley if he had hit it right away.

[Monkey200728]

If Golan had swung and hit that ball Pilley probably would have caught it straight to the face. An absolutely ridiculous call that encourages dangerous play.

[aussiepunk]

let let let let let duh

[zeyshaan]

Its a good decision, smart move from the player for staying on the side, hence not impeding his backswing at all

[goshensquash]

Golan is definitely a fisher. It is difficult to see the exact position of the ball on the video, and therefore to make the call, but from Golan's perspective, the ball has come unexpectedly right down the center, and when he turns, he doesn't know where Pilley is (could be in his swing). I didn't see the whole match, and maybe this happened multiple times, but if this is an isolated incident on match ball, then it is a little harsh.

[bettiethebadger]

actually borja is regarded as a very fair player. not sure you know what you're talking about.

[korsow57]

goshen is not saying borja is not a fair player or a cheat. he is saying he is a fisher, something completely different! but that is just the way these players have been tought by their coaches!

[bettiethebadger]

i can assure you these guys are not taught to "fish for strokes" by their coaches. it is just something these players get into the (bad)habit of doing. not sure you know what you are talking about either.

[korsow57]

you are partly right,was more speaking in genaral. would you pay me one dollar for every player who was tought to fish?? i would get pretty drunk then at the bar tonight! but concerning borja: i don't have any evidence that borja was tought by his coaches to fish as part of his natural game. although i also agree with goshen that he asks much more in situations where the ball could and should be played. wich you could describe as; he is a fisher.

[goshensquash]

No let is pretty harsh, especially with a ball right down the center like that.

[korsow57]

agree, pretty harsh. but that is exactly what refs should do more. this guy is fishing for a cheap stroke, play the ball! cam is a smartass, anticipated in time and is nowhere in his swing. In this situation Willstrop/beac or White or any decent player would have taken the ball early. even if cam had been where borja was expecting him to be! the problem with those f**cking refs is that this one got it right but have seen strokes awarded as well. thats why players keep trying!

[Monkey200728]

Pilley may have been hit on Golan's follow through. Even if he was trying for a stroke, Pilley was close enough to have caught the follow-through to his face... or is that not grounds for a let to you?