Dear Editor,

I was not at all surprised when I read about basketball players attacking referees.

Since Cecil Chin and Neil Omrow stopped refereeing its been a disgrace in Guyana. Too much referees are affiliated with clubs in Guyana. There are times when referees show bias for their teams, so we need to have independent referees that are well trained and know the game well. Too much people get involved in refereeing without going to seminars and doing real referee training.

I just hope basketball can return to the glory days of the 1980s when players respected the referee's decision, even though they might disagree with a call or two.

We need to get control of the game. Players must be banned from playing once they become violent. I admire Vijay Panday's persistence. He has been abused before and he continues to do the job of refereeing. I wish him the best of luck.