SQUASH. Most controversial PSA match of the year. Crazy ending!

Flopping, fishing, blocking and arguing. And just wait till you see the match ball!
________
PSA Cognac Open 2023, semi-final full match:
[2] Daniel Poleshchuk (ISR) vs [8] Mohamed Nasser (EGY)
_______
Big questions:
59:00 - enough contact or no contact?
1:00:15 - did he do something wrong?!
And smaller incidents with physical contact:
12:00 - who's fault?
34:25 - two rallies of pushing and elbowing.
39:50 - surprised?
41:05 - more pushing.
41:40 - blocking or not?
42:17 - blocking or not?
44:05 - stroke and push.
44:30 - NO LET?
46:00 - blocking or not?
46:30 - blocking or not?
48:15 - blocking or not?
49:00 - blocking or not?
50:10 - blocking or not?
55:55 - blocking or not?
56:35 - blocking or not?
57:45 - blocking or not?

[@maseraticc2834]

The little guy is diving around the court and it's clear there has not been any contact. Terrible to see such unsporting behaviour. In the final dive he is even holding his head so early its clear to see he is cheating. He deserves a job on the stage acting. Feel for Nasser having to play such a cheat. Wonder what the little guy now makes of having his antics and cheating posted to the world on KZbin 🤣🤣🤣

[@watching99134]

Yes he barely touches him but already his hand is to his face as if Nasser's backswing caught him on the nose.

[@mohammadusman9451]

Nasser is a clear Victor here. Every time he played a winning shot the other guy pushed him and got a let. Daniel kept pushing him throughout the match but didn't get a warning or conduct stroke. Referee seemed to be pressured by people around him. Daniel was disgrace to squash. Kudos to Nasser for keeping his cool and still trying to finish match.

[@nicoleianuari173]

Terrible officiating, little guy obviously a football cheat. After so many decades, squash has finally been introduced into the Olympics, then to witness bull shit squash like this, how the hell can this sport grow.

[@KoenWelvaars]

This ref has completely lost his mind and should be banned from reffing PSA matches.

[@UKVitamins]

What a disgrace from the ref. Tall guy was doing nothing wrong all game.

[@batesmiester]

What a disgrace, that umpire should be sacked

[@martincollins6632]

Anyone know who the referee is?

[@michaelpham6379]

@@martincollins6632doesn’t matter who the ref is, thank god that Mohamed guy lost the match that dirty cheater. Blocking is so bad, just play fair squash Mohamed dumb Arab

[@watching99134]

@@martincollins6632 Not sure of his name but there is a comment below from squashcognac8800 claiming it's "his tournament" and the video should not have been distributed.

[@mattb9138]

This match definitely seemed biased. Daniel should be ashamed of his antics, it’s not football stop playing up your injuries it’s not that bad and your clearly fit and strong so just get on with it. How anyone would want to win in that manner is beyond me

[@MrChristerBerg]

That was BS. In the last point, Nasser simply hit his shot and the smaller guy immediately ran into him and fell. It was clearly not Nasser’s fault as he has to be able to complete his stroke. He can’t just vanish into thin air .01 seconds later. Not to mention that the other guy completely faked contact when he fell a few points earlier.

[@squashfan117]

The little guy falls down with just a little touch lol😂

[@watching99134]

Sometimes not even that!

[@shananarocks]

59:05 min Lucky the video camera was there to catch Daniel faking an injury. At 1:00:15 min we can even see Daniel kneeing his opponent from behind and pretending to fall. What a loser. Guess the referee has been bribed too.

[@PauloCossoin]

Poleschuk is a joke 😂😅 what is this, ref is a joke. What a disgrace. So sorry for the other player.

[@ABRAHAMANNIE]

Horrible to watch . Referee made so many horrible calls , and little guy thinks he is in wrestling match . Bad for squash

[@saripolbadrule8478]

PSA please BANNED a reff😂😂😂

[@mrfish4572]

Daniel Poleshchuk should take up premier football. He'd fit right in. Falling on the floor and holding his face before the ball has been kicked. Both of these players need to be coached in making an effort to go around your opponent to get to the ball, and ideally they should be coached in how to do a drop shot rather than hit everything to the back.

[@dmdunn]

I'm amazed Nasser kept his cool for as long as he did with his opponent and the referee. Poleshchuk moves terribly around the court and when he hits a loose shot (which is often) which Nasser takes advantage of, he tries to get a let or stroke. Unbelievable, I hope the PSA reviews this footage to see how horribly this match was refereed.

[@mjc3086]

The contact between Nasser and Daniel was caused when Daniel rushes in before Nasser has finished his follow through thereby causing the contact. Daniel then goes to ground holding his stomach and then in the second case holding his head. This results in the 3rd conduct event and awarding of the match to Daniel. Daniel appears to have manipulated the poor refereeing to his advantage. In all cases, the referee should have been aware that Daniels' (feigned?) injuries were caused by him, not Nasser. According to the rules, the striker should have the "freedom to play his shot".

[@mohammadusman9451]

The first conduct stroke given by ref is shocking. Daniel moved in opposite direction to the ball ran into Nasser and gets a conduct stroke.

[@stevehughes1510]

Nasser won the match by rights, however he was up against a woeful referee and a cheat in Daniel who was a drama queen, and the referee bought it hook line and sinker. Really bad to see this.

[@alexsanchez3765]

It's a pity from the French guy to lose that way. The last set was pathetic. The referee should review the match and learn how not to be cheated. The behaviour of a squash player should be able to be studied afterwards by the PSA to punish those who try to win the matches not in a honest way. Squash is and must stay a gentleman's sport.

[@martincollins6632]

Daniel Poleshchuk is an Israeli not French.

[@ab3zradsjkhdsagwqiu]

The PSA is pathetic. Total embarrassment

[@michaelpham6379]

I know right! Lucky the ref got the dirty Arab cheater to lose the match, blocking and hitting his opponent on purpose is so bad

[@watching99134]

@@michaelpham6379 What match were you watching

[@michaelpham6379]

@@watching99134 you must be Egyptian, stop being bias he was clearly blocking and cheating, good job ref

[@katariagaurav]

The little guy is a wimp here. The referee is a fool here to not see the obvious. The little one could have injured himself seriously by his antics. Kudos to the tall guy for being a sport.

[@RAYarkley]

referee was soo poor, how can you let the other player run into him soo many times and then blame the other person. Its enough to give up playing

[@FinancialFreebo]

I wish I hadn't even seen this video. The French guy is terrible. His ego is soooooo lost.... He has lost his way in terms of honesty or decency and fair play... He is a disgrace.

[@martincollins6632]

Israeli not French

[@SquashTiger]

Daniel is a big actor and cheater😡, the referee is huge embarrassment to the squash, Nasser played his shot and clearly Daniel running to Nasser body instead going to the ball, If I'm the referee I would've gave Conduct warning to Daniel for running into Nasser body on purpose which can cause Nasser Harm... I can't believe there's referee doesn't see what's truly going on... Nasser a great gentleman for punting up with Daniel behavior, Ridicules ending... Nasser you are a champ👍

[@krishnarules]

Can anyone explain the last point? I didn't see Nasser do anything too bad. Daniel made a loose shot, and Nasser made a drop shot. Maybe Nasser stayed on his ball too long, but he def didn't make any untoward movement (that at least I saw) to warrant Daniel falling down. And I feel it's Daniel's bad that he made a bad shot and gave Nasser the T. I could have missed something though.

[@mattb9138]

I think Nasser had conduct game against him I assume for dangerous play. I agree I didn’t see anything that bad for a conduct game but you could tell these guys didn’t like each other right from the start with them being reluctant to move out each others way

[@squash7days]

Yes, conduct stroke (another one so conduct game). But why... good question!

[@mrfish4572]

@@squash7daysUnfortunately Poleshchuk realised he could win points by falling on the floor and holding his face/body without any contact and the ref pandered to that behaviour. He should have lost points for diving imho.

[@ciaster]

Nothing wrong with his shots, just playing and staying in his space, Daniel just playing on his shoulder and finds himself stuck so starts to push opponent. Ref responsible for not talking to this cheat and allowing him to cheat. Terrible way to go on.

[@ewallt]

Reminds me of elections.

[@aaroncostelloe8788]

What a disgrace , that smaller player would literallly try anything to win what a cheater and a disgrace to the game of squash , squash in its own right doesnt get the support it deserves and people like him showing it in this light certainly wont help the sport , result should be overturned .

[@sameh7385]

Wtf i just watched!!!! Cheating in its ugliest forms

[@roland2879]

I didn't know that footballers could play Squash...😂

[@peterhammer6915]

that Daniel guy 😂😂🤡🤡🤡

[@jasont5283]

That was a PSA event? Surely not ! Firstly the ref needs to be made to watch the replay and then a lengthy suspension. Daniel needs his prizemoney from this event taken off him and at least 6 months suspension for continual misconduct. An apology needs to be given by PSA to Nasser and Daniel's prizemoney for the event given to Nasser.

[@squash7days]

Yes it was. And a PSA final too :)

[@MrJoel3498]

That tumble in the second game was entirely the tiny guy’s fault for going the completely wrong way. Nasser extending his leg to balance himself for his shot would have had absolutely no impact had the tiny guy gone the right way.

[@karelesterhuizen7117]

What a joke, PSA should intervene and sort this out.

[@Shaantitus1]

Lots of videos of Daniel Poleshchuk doing this. Has Asal started a school for this garbage or something?

[@christianturner7598]

Basically everything dp hits a lose ball he tries to get in front of his opponent rather than taking his medicine😊

[@aymanali7265]

This is the worst referee I have ever seen.

[@martincollins6632]

12:16 blue guy causes a massive crash due to being wrong footed after his terrible shot playing right onto his big guys forehand. After this the match is going to be a disaster. Referee loses complete control of the match.

[@martincollins6632]

After this crash the big guy should retire injured. Blue guy loses match due to having caused an injury to big guy. Game over.

[@martincollins6632]

Blue guy complaining is outrageous. He played a terrible shot right back to the T, He realised he was in deep trouble if big guy plays to the forehand. He wants to try and get in front again but his poor shot does not allow it. Big guy reverses the direction of the ball but shapes up for a straight drive. Blue guy is completely wrong footed and crashes into big guy. As I stated in other comment, Blue guy is crowding, this is what happens, he is lucky he didn't hit in the face with the follow through.

[@johnfarr8593]

Majority of the refs calls were bad and he didn't even attempt to get the shoving under control, which deserved a conduct warning at the very least

[@martincollins6632]

5:37, conduct warning for blocking are you kidding. he played the ball into the backhand corner from the T. little guy has to go back - No let. I can already see where this is going. Referee has it in for the tall guy after a few crappy shots leading to Stroke.

[@javiercruz4461]

¡¡¡ THE WORST CENTURY SQUASH JUDGE !!!

[@martincollins6632]

9:00 the ball is less than 3 board off the side wall with deep length. Blue guy pushing the back of big guy while he is still in the follow through of his shot. This is called crowding your opponent. If ref is going to conduct warning from block he should also give conduct warning for this crowding action.

[@mjhastings4534]

I would have given him something to cry about

[@squashfan117]

The ref is so bad he doesn’t even know how to give a correct conduct stroke.

[@hajenius66]

Mandatory watch for every umpire training of how not to referee.! Both the little guy and the umpire should be banned for at least a year. Going to check which brands support shorty just to be sure never to support them.

[@watching99134]

Lost track of the number of times the Israeli guy shoved his opponent unnecessarily to get a let or stroke call.

[@squash7days]

Big questions: 59:00 - enough contact or no contact? 1:00:15 - did he do something wrong?! And other incidents with physical contact: 12:00 - who's fault? 34:25 - two rallies of pushing and elbowing. 39:50 - surprised? 41:05 - more pushing. 41:40 - blocking or not? 42:17 - blocking or not? 44:05 - stroke and push. 44:30 - NO LET? 46:00 - blocking or not? 46:30 - blocking or not? 48:15 - blocking or not? 49:00 - blocking or not? 50:10 - blocking or not? 55:55 - blocking or not? 56:35 - blocking or not? 57:45 - blocking or not?

[@lightformat9579]

59:00 terrible acting 1:00:15 and its a joke :D

[@fahadaijaz4]

at 59:00, there was no contact at all. at 1:00:15. awarding a conduct game is preposterous. Even if he did something, it was certainly not worthy of a conduct game.

[@AhmedMakhlouf-dn6dm]

So bad to see this actings and this designs

[@mohammadusman9451]

At 1:00:15 Daniel didn't even take the line to the ball. He went straight for Nasser before he even finished playing his shot. You can see it in slow motion. Second the ball was too short for even a let to be awarded.

[@straydog3462]

you should pin this comment so everyone can see

[@drrick2466]

I'd be pissed too!

[@andredejongh1411]

Nasser did absolutely nothing wrong, shame on you little guy! The Ref should buy new glasses

[@rachidramy502]

The referee is a little piece of poop . he was either paid or he came from a volleyball match. and the Daniel player .... what a pitiful acting job during the whole match. he never tried to play the ball, always searching for the player instead, and he was rewarded by that shameful refereeing . the Nasser guy was robbed of his match. if this is really a PSA match there should be a review board and action should be taken . a real mockery....

[@tazmanian6705]

is this a new sport? Rugby squash? 😂

[@jasmoon4732]

Yes Football comes to mind lol. The PSA should review this match. It looks like cheating and this should not be rewarded with a match win.

[@MrMarcelzurich]

Wow, no boundary between street-smart and shameless I guess. And the ref? He seems to have the observational skills of a houseplant, completely oblivious to the charades and the constant back-ramming. Handing victory to the little drama queen was the cherry on top.

[@mfonlyfans]

Daniel needs to go into acting. Even then, he would be a D rated actor with the garbage he showcased on court.

[@martincollins6632]

First point game 2 clear case of Yes Let. There is contact, it trips him, but he is still likely to make that shot if not for the unintentional contact. Contact is not his fault as blue guy is moving back to the center court after dragging big guy towards the front corner with trickle boast.

[@kwankuiwa5885]

diving champion !

[@shredlin]

Good thing Squash being added to the Olympics happened before this match had been seen. What a mess.

[@adrianbutnaru5938]

daniel should play as a comedian, he makes the squash a shame ....

[@martincollins6632]

Really obvious the referee is just going to side with the higher ranked player after the first few rallies. What a mess.

[@lucyjo06]

Poor refereeing, completely conned. Hopefully the PSA see the footage and review.

[@AhmedMakhlouf-dn6dm]

Not fair

[@jungholee3793]

56:43 ,,,,,,, what block is he talkin about???

[@yannvandenberghe5565]

Football player comes to squash 😄

[@martincollins6632]

By the end of the match Blue guy is just acting. Should get a ban.

[@MartinDuys]

He went on to win the tournament. He should be stripped of the title.

[@drrick2466]

That last one was not returnable.

[@russb5610]

Lmfao tripping over air this isn’t soccer buddy, take that crap down river

[@drsnz]

5 minutes in and not a single legal serve yet. Is the ref blind?

[@mosley59]

The rot started in the first 3 points. Daniel clearly was making little attempt to play the ball from the outset (appealing for minimal swing interference that in my grade would be a no let) and he was consistently rewarded with cheap strokes. Nasser wanted to play and have an actual match and the ref didn’t want to make Daniel do the same. Adding insult to injury was the ridiculous claim of blocking and conduct warning when Daniel took a stupid line from the back right to a ball in the back left of the court via the T. Nasser tried to clear based on the line that Daniel should have taken and was told off for his opponents poor choices.

[@mosley59]

Just to add to that, the referee’s call in the second game of stroke + conduct stroke is so far out of touch with reality it’s not even funny and shows Daniel that this will continue to be rewarded. Daniel is behind Nasser who plays a crosscourt to the same side Daniel is already on. Daniel then dives away from the ball into Nasser’s legs and somehow comes out two points ahead for a rugby tackle.

[@MrAsflkj]

Lots of harsh criticism for the ref here, that should be reserved for the player. Tough to see exactly what the ref sees from this angle. Agree that Nasser is robbed but the ref is put in a horrible position by Daniel's theatrics and anyone that actually has to ref these kind of games will know how tricky an exercise it becomes.

[@watching99134]

It's not an either-or, the referee shouldn't reward the bad actor for his actions (I agree it's extremely unpleasant to ref these kinds of matches).

[@joshdefreitas5977]

Small man paid the referee😮

[@phixy21]

If Asal can do it, Daniel can do it too... no exceptions!

[@larsgibbon3327]

Polechuck is an absolute disgrace, cheating, blocking, pushing, arguing. The referee is weak as can be, should have taken control of the match, award conduct warning, stroke, game and match. If the referee had taken charge early, Polechuck would have stopped or been disqualified. The truly sad part is that Polechuck is most likely very proud of his "achievement"... Mo Nasser should be commended for putting with all of the antics...

[@drrick2466]

Is this LeBron playing here?

[@amoscraig2227]

Buddy is playing like Asal, leaving his racket out in front of him wracking it across his opponents face. Once you see it you can’t unsee it.

[@user-uc3nb1hd4f]

The Ukrainian/Jewish guy is flopping terribly and the ref takes his side. It reminds me of something :)

[@shriefh]

I guess the Israelis are not offering good acting lessons as they used to be. Weird, I thought they would master it by now after 75 years!

[@martincollins6632]

The quality of the squash is pretty ordinary. lots of very loose shots popping out. Both players realising the referee has no idea so they both just start asking for lets knowing that strokes are coming thick and fast.

[@RaviPandey-qy3ph]

can u tell the softly.

[@ciaster]

Ref really didn't understand the rules of squash. As far as Daniel goes, utter cheat. Embarrassing to watch in slow motion even more so..pretend injuries and just hanging on his shirt and pushing him towards the shot when the ball is at the other end of the court. Top marks to his opponent , I would have just walked off. Daniel, you are a cheat, you need to apologise for your disgraceful behaviour and at the very least donate or work for a charity for 3 days and reassess why you are being like this.

[@dbasrus]

What a riot! On one hand, I can understand DP's frustration. He's very quick round the court and MN was often slow to clear. DP should have been cautioned earlier for pushing to show his behaviour would not be tolerated. Some of his pushes should have been conduct strokes. That said, MN should also have been cautioned earlier for slow clearance. He tends to play the ball to the other side of himself from his opponent, thereby creating interference situations. If he does this, he has to give direct access to the ball. Many times, he didn't. But whichever way you spin it, the end was pure cheating :-( Don't be too harsh on the ref, either.. he didn't have slo-mo and freeze frame to make his calls! Decision at 5:36. DP initially went forward, creating the interference. No Let 12:13 DP anticipated length and pushed into MN. No Let 20:34 DP's drop was loose and came back towards him. Stroke to MN 40:10 Stroke to DP, but also conduct warning 41:42 No Let. DP's first move was shoving laterally into MN. Second bounce was 1m in front of MN. Second conduct warning. 42:17 DP was too slow getting back to the T. 44:30 Tend to agree No Let. MN could have played. Was not in position to hit DP with racket or ball 46:06 Stroke to DP. MN too slow to clear, excessive swing blocking DP. 46:36 No Let. Not blocking - DP out of position 48:18 No Let. Not blocking - came off DP's bad shot 49:06 No Let. DP just shoving without looking 50:18 Conduct Stroke against DP 55:57 No Let. Too far 56:39 No Let. DP went wrong way! 57:50 Stroke to DP. MN too slow to clear 59:06 WTF? 1:00:20 No Let. Pure theatrics from DP. He should be sanctioned for this.

[@MsSly66]

Poleschuk's receiving was not accurate, there was not too excessive follow-through, the volley drop was accurate by the Egyptian player -I would have given him a maximum let.

[@yanaany530]

What a disgrace to all the fair players. He should be banned from playing any psa tournaments for life

[@espiral7225]

El chaparro es un violento tramposo ¿Por qué le permiten jugar?

[@volodymyr.melnyk]

that is why squash is not olympic...wait a minute!

[@squash7days]

Yeah, we can't use that one anymore! ^^

[@user-pk7zt2nf8e]

little guy+ referee= disgusting

[@drrick2466]

🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂

[@squashcognac8800]

Hello , this match was during my PSA tournament and I would like to know how did you get the entire video? Who did sell you it because without my approval you arent allowed to difuse it? Best regards

[@shn_13742]

More importantly, who was the referee who disgraced this match?

[@yipzai2mark]

Poleshchuk such a disgrace to squash

[@amanzurs]

With professionals behaving like this, no wonder why sponsors run away from squash. PSA do something before pickelball takes over... Shameful!