Battle on Osloki Island! RL vs. Ash (ref: Oslo)

[Oslo]

I agree that the ref shouldn't assume that a Protect is intended for anyone but the user; however, since Hanzo's mad dash to Osloki resulted in him being less than foot in front of the statue, the fact that the Protect covered Osloki was inevitable. It's a simple matter of placement—where he was standing, he couldn't not Protect the statue.

It's different than the example you're referencing, where, according to DL's appraisal, the two Pokemon weren't even beside each other.