10 of the Biggest Sports Controversies of All Time

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Controversies and sports fit together like a hand in a glove. When there is one, there is always the other. Most of these controversies are buried and never revealed to the public by the media because of the legal implications that might be faced by corrupt sports officials. Check out below for 10 of the biggest sports controversies of all time.

#10: Maria Sharapova’s doping scandal

In March of 2016, the former world’s number female tennis player, Maria Sharapova, admitted to failing a drug test ahead of the 2016 Australian open. However, she only did this after testing positive to a the banned substance Meldonium. She claimed to have used the substance for years for an undisclosed health problem. However, the International Tennis Federation was not convinced. She was handed a 2-year ban. Maria Sharapova also said that the drug she used was not banned as at the time she was accused of doping. A plea deal got her 2-year sentence reduced to 9 months. Unfortunately, she lost most of her endorsement deals over the issue.

#9: The Lance Armstrong doping scandal

The Lance Armstrong doping scandal is one of the biggest sports controversies, in the cycling world. Lance Armstrong was the most successful Tour de France cyclist in the history of the sport. He won the Tour seven consecutive times. What made his feat even more unbelievable was that Lance Armstrong also battled cancer for a long period of time. Armstrong had been accused of using performance-enhancing substances for many years. However, he never fail doping test. Rather, in 2013, he openly confessed to using drugs to win his seven consecutive Tour de France titles. He was quickly stripped of his seven Tour de France titles. Lance Armstrong was also accused of benefiting from preferential treatment by the leadership of the UCI which happens to be the Independence Commission for Reform in Cycling.^[1]The Guardian – Timeline: Lance Armstrong’s journey from deity to disgrace

#8: The 2006 Italian football league match-fixing

This is one of the biggest sports controversies in the world of football due to the fact that it came at a time when match-fixing was quite unpopular in the football world. Italian Police discovered the major match-fixing scandal in 2006. It involved four major professional clubs in the country, namely; Juventus, Inter FC, Fiorentina and AC Milan. Prosecutors accused the teams of getting only referees that would favor them in their matches.

The details of the match-fixing scandals were revealed after series of telephone conversations leaked indicating the numerous exchange of funds between team managers and the referee organizations. All the teams found guilty in the match-fixing scandal were heavily punished in the same year with relegation to the lower division. Even over a decade after the infamous match-fixing scandal, some sports analysts believe that the Italian Serie has never fully recovered.^[2]SBNATION – A decade after Italy’s match-fixing scandal, Serie A is worse than it was before

#7: The 1919 Black Sox Scandal

The 1919 Black Sox Scandal is perhaps the biggest scandal in the history of Major League Baseball. The 1988 movie, Eight Men Out, immortalized this infamous scandal. The scandal included some 8 baseball players on the White Sox team during the 1919 World Series. They decided to collude with gamblers before the 1919 World Series, intentionally loosing to the Cincinnati Reds.^[3]Money INC – The 10 Biggest Scandals in MLB History Investigators of the match-fixing scandal later revealed that gamblers, who betted heavily on the White Sox loosing, paid huge sums of money to the 8 players.

By 1920, prosecutors had gathered all the necessary evidence, following the confession of two of the players. However, the trial did not start until 1921. While not finding all the 8 players guilty on all the charges brought against them, the baseball commissioner did ban all of them from all professional baseball games.

#6: The banning of Russia’s Olympic athletes from 2018 Winter games

This is one of the most serious sports controversies in the history of the Winter Olympics. The Olympic committee banned the entire Russian from taking part in the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics after uncovering a doping scandal involving the Russian contingent to the 2014 Sochi games. They later cleared some of the athletes to participate in the games. However, the scandal has gone down as one of the most embarrassing in the history of the Olympics. Despite the Russian Olympics committee appealing against the ban, the International Olympics committee decided to throw out the appeal and confirm the embargo on the athletes.^[4]Independent – Winter Olympics 2018: Appeal by 45 Russian athletes against doping bans rejected by Court of Arbitration for Sport

#5: The 1986 “Hand of God” (Argentina vs England)

The 1986 controversial hand of God goal is not only one of biggest sports controversies of all time, it remains the most humorous of them all. Billions from around the world watch the match on June 22, 1986. The match was the quarterfinals of the 1986 World Cup. The famous Estadio Azteca in Mexico City was the host stadium.

The game was quite significant because it took place some years after the Falklands war between the United Kingdom and Argentina, and was a key part of the fierce rivalry between the two countries. Diego Maradona, the Argentine legend had equalized for Argentina, only to score the second and the winning goal after the 54th minute, and after dribbling past 5 English defenders. He scored the controversial hand of God.^[5]Sporteology – Biggest Sports Scandals In All Time Sports History Argentina later went on to win the 1986 FIFA World cup. Diego Maradona also won the golden boot of the tournament.

#4: Tiger Wood’s Indiscretions

Tiger Wood’s sex scandals were some of the biggest sports controversies in the world of golf. Most of the scandals involving Tiger woods were personal issues not directly related to the sport. In fact, some even see it as a racial attack on his personality. Sympathizers from all around the world believed that police racially profiled Tiger Woods.^[6]GOLF – Five years later: Timeline of Woods scandal

In 2009, Tiger Wood’s extramarital affairs became public knowledge. He crashed his car into a ditch near his home and suffered some lacerations on his face. Weeks later, Tiger Woods admitted to having affairs with numerous women. In 2010, Tiger Wood’s wife filed for a divorce which costs the golf player, a whopping $750 million fortune and in 2017, the golfer dropped out of the top 1000 golfers in the world, for the first time. To this day, his career has not recovered from the backlash of his extramarital affairs.

#3: The 1997 Mike Tyson Ear-biting scandal

This perhaps is the biggest scandal in the world of boxing and one of the biggest sports controversies that many people will never forget. Mike Tyson was arguably the most controversial boxer in the history of boxing. Evander Holyfield had earlier on defeated Mike Tyson in 1996 in the 11th round. This set up the biggest boxing rematch in history. When he deliberately chewed off a part of Evander Holyfield’s ear during their 1997 Las Vegas bout, he cemented his controversial legacy. The ear-biting incident had happened in the third round of the rematch between the 2 biggest boxers in the world, at that time.

The ear biting problem got Mike Tyson disqualified twice. After the 1997 rematch, Evander Holyfield won a third round disqualification. He went to the Valley Hospital and had a surgery on his right ear.

#2: Michael Vicks dogs abuse scandal

One of the biggest sports controversies of all time involved the former American quarterback Michael Vick. He had placed bets on some pet dogs inside the ring to fight. With this incident, the entire nation noticed the cruel manner in which owners induced their pets to fight each other for financial gains.

The courts also convicted three associates of Michael Vick with him. There were Federal and State charges for running an illicit gambling ring involving dozens of different dog breeds.^[7]ESPN – In Virginia facing state dogfighting charges, Vick’s involvement revealed All 50 states in the US outlaw dog fighting including the District of Columbia. The judge sentenced Michael Vick to 5 years imprisonment under the Animal Welfare Act. However, dog abuse advocates all around the United States believed that they should have handed Michael Vicks a stiffer penalty. Especially since they killed many dogs before the police exposed the gambling rings.

#1: The FIFA World cup hosting right scandal

This perhaps is the biggest sports controversy in football. In May 2015, police arrested seven of the top FIFA executives in Zurich, Switzerland. Officials charged them with money laundering and bribe inducements from Russia and Qatar, for the hosting of 2018, and 2022 world cup rights, respectively. In December that same year, police also arrested two FIFA vice presidents at a Zurich hotel. Later, the US Department of Justice charged 16 other FIFA officials for accepting bribe payments for the 2018 and 2022 world cups finals. In October 2015, the then FIFA President, Sepp Blatter announced his resignation from FIFA.^[8]BBC – World Cup 2022: Claims of corruption in Qatar bid published in Germany