When Scott Foster was named the officiating crew chief for Game 4 of the NBA Finals, Pacers fans were not particularly pleased by the decision. The reason? His reputation for bringing bad luck to teams with leads in a playoff series has earned him the infamous nickname “The Extender.” Up 2-1, Indiana supporters feared that Foster’s officiating would lead to OKC levelling the series and taking away their advantage.

So tonight, when the score got too close for comfort and Foster made some controversial decisions early in the game, the Pacers fans were quick to call him out. One of the most questionable calls of the first half happened when Obi Toppin charged at Alex Caruso during a fast break and intentionally ran through him to stop him from getting easy points. Caruso landed hard on the deck upon impact, leading to a heated altercation between both teams.

No doubt it was a foul by Toppin, and a hard one at that. But Foster took it a step further by deeming it a “non-basketball play” and penalizing Obi with a Flagrant 1 foul. He claimed there was ‘wind up, impact, and follow through’ by the Pacers star, fulfilling the criteria of a flagrant. He also gave a double tech to Toppin and Hartenstein for their altercation. Sure enough, the call was met with deafening boos by the Indiana crowd. While Foster’s decision in itself does not seem problematic, the officials let go of a similar play in Game 3 when Aaron Nesmith intentionally pulled down Caruso during a fast break. So, Pacers fans saw a clear contrast in the officiating standard between Wednesday’s game and tonight.

Frustrated by Foster’s officiating, along with his crew, Josh Tiven and Sean Wright, renowned Pacers fan Pat McAfee notified the league. “Hey @NBA… these refs” He tweeted. Of course, Pat is an Indianapolis Colts legend and has been pretty vocal about his support for the Pacers throughout these playoffs.

Even media veteran Bill Simmons shared a similar sentiment, as he had a hilarious remark for Foster’s officiating, “I’m glad to be here for the most Scott Fostery game ever.”

As expected, Pat and Simmons were not the only people fed up with the veteran official’s questionable antics.

NBA Finals officiating deemed “pathetic” as Scott Foster gets accused of making the game about himself

Similar to the two media veterans, several other Pacers fans expressed their frustration by calling out Foster. “Eh I’m done guys. The league made the call for Scott foster and this is what we get. Pathetic ref show. I’ll watch but I’m don’t chiming in here. Such a crock.” A netizen wrote.

Meanwhile, Foster was also accused of taking the attention away from the actual game with the constant stoppages and whistles. Comments like “Scott Foster making this game all about himself” and “Scott Foster thinks we’re watching for him to no one’s surprise” began flooding in. Halfway through the game, Scott had already made multiple stoppages for flagrant reviews and a plethora of free throws for both teams. It seemingly disrupted the flow of the game, which has been the highlight of this series so far.

One netizen took the criticism a step further by saying, “SCOTT FOSTER IS ONE OF THE WORST REFEREES IN NBA HISTORY ALWAYS WANTING SERIES TO BE EXTENDED NO MATTER WHO IT IS!!!!!!!!!”

Last year, when the Timberwolves were down 3-0 in the West Finals, they avoided elimination by winning Game 4. Coincidentally, Foster was the official that night. Now, this might be a pure coincidence that series tend to get extended when Foster is officiating, but him being the common factor in most scenarios raises suspicion among fans. So, their frustration tonight may seem justified. Do you agree?