According to PVL Commissioner Sherwin Malonzo, Bobby Celso, the primary referee in question, along with a line judge, will be reassigned and removed from the officiating pool for the remainder of the 2024 All-Filipino Conference.
The Premier Volleyball League has taken action in response to growing concerns regarding a controversial referee and a line judge involved in officiating the match between Petro Gazz and Creamline in the semifinals of the 2024 All-Filipino Conference last Thursday, May 2.
According to league commissioner Sherwin Malonzo, Bobby Celso, the primary referee in question, along with a line judge, will not be suspended. Instead, both will be reassigned and removed from the officiating pool for the remainder of the season-opening conference.
“Walang suspension na nangyari, just to be clear. But ano nga, we have a pool of referees. So every match, we select the referees required to officiate the matches. I guess, because of the heat doon sa tao, we assigned him to a different role or a different job,” Malonzo told reporters on Sunday, May 5, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“And then for the line judge, hindi rin naman kailangan i-suspend. He was just doing his job. Just because he saw the check ball at 25-all, I don’t think it’s right to suspend anybody. It’s a matter of just reassigning them kung saan hindi lang mainit ‘yung bagay bagay,” he continued.
“They will be reassigned until the end of the conference lang. Like I said, walang suspended. But for the rest of the conference, which is a few games to go, ano naman marami ring kasi kaming pool eh, so papaikot lang talaga ng tao.”
On Friday, May 3, the Petro Gazz Angels demanded that officiating lapses be addressed after a controversial call late in the third set. The incident in question involved a spike by Alyssa Valdez over the block of Aiza Maizo-Pontillas and MJ Phillips, which was initially called out but later reversed. The Angels ended up losing the set, and eventually the match.
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To that end, Malonzo emphasized the league's commitment to maintaining fair play and high-quality officiating by organizing a special meeting with referees. During this meeting, he urged them to make full use of the challenge system to prevent similar issues from occurring in the future.
“So sabi ko kay Jeff [Lopez] natin, ‘yung referee supervisor, utilize the challenge. Pwede rin kasi i-challenge ‘yung sarili. Hindi natin pinapababa ‘yung desisyon ni referee, kaya lang para maintindihan din ng mga tao kung tama ‘yung deisyon niya. Ngayon kung mali ‘yung desisyon niya after the review, doesn’t mean na mahina siya na referee,” Malonzo said.
He then furthered, “Ang bilis ng bola. Subukan niyong tumayo sa pwesto ng referee, ang bilis ng bola. So ano ‘yan, talagang every assistance na pwedeng makuha, kailangan talaga. And video challenge, the challenge system is one equipment that can help reduce the doubt doon sa tawag niya.”