Toronto Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic was ejected from their game against the Memphis Grizzlies after going berserk on a referee over a controversial non-call.
Rajakovic, who is currently in his second season with the Raptors, lost his cool during the fourth quarter of their 155-126 defeat to the Grizzlies on Thursday night, with two of his own players even forced to intervene.
Officials chose not to call a foul on a drive by Toronto’s Scottie Barnes, only for Memphis to eventually go and score down the other end.
And the non-call sparked an astonishing meltdown from Rajakovic, who immediately made a beeline for one of the referees after calling a timeout.
‘Call the f***ing foul! Call the f***ing foul!’ he could be heard shouting while Barnes and Ochai Agbaji held him back.
After being led away from the official, Rajakovic was issued a pair of technical fouls and automatically ejected from the game with the Raptors trailing 125-103.
Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic was ejected for losing his cool with a referee on Thursday
‘We hold each other to a higher standard and obviously we weren’t playing to that,’ Raptors assistant Pat Delany said after the game, via Sportsnet’s Savanna Hamilton.
‘I can’t speak for [Rajakovic] in terms of those moments or what was going through his mind, but obviously you’re trying to protect our players.’
Rajakovic had never been ejected from a game prior to his fiery outburst late on in Thursday night’s game.
However, the Serbian was fined $25,000 by the NBA last season for ripping into officials after a loss to the LA Lakers.
Before joining the Raptors, Rajakovic previously spent three years as an assistant coach for the Grizzlies.
Toronto’s record now stands at 7-24 after their latest defeat – a game-and-a-half ahead of the Washington Wizards for the worst in the Eastern Conference.
