Controversial Decisions (and No-Decisions)

Well, that Kentucky Derby was sure one we're gonna keep talking about, wasn't it?  For the first time in history, the horse that finished first didn't actually win the race.  Instead, Maximum Security was disqualified for impeding other horses as they rounded the final turn for the home stretch and, 25 minutes after the race ended, Country House was declared the "winner."

I'm not in a position to say whether the race stewards made the right call or not.  Personally, I don't think I would've made a move as drastic as changing the winner of the Kentucky Derby based on something you couldn't tell without studying the video over and over again, but that's just me. 

Maximum Security's owner protested the result, but it was quickly denied since the stewards' decision isn't subject to appeal.  Nevertheless, he's vowed to continue the fight, and this'll likely end up in court.  Even though an overturn seems unlikely, the controversy will rage on.  And it's certainly going to be a giant cloud hanging over the Preakness and Belmont.  Maximum Security was the best horse in the Derby and would've had a legitimate shot at the Triple Crown.  Country House does not.

This is far from the first controversial judging decision in sports history.  It's not even the first this year.  Pick a sport, and there's been some sort of controversial ruling somewhere along the way.  Whether it's a call or a no-call, people are still talking about these controversial game-changing decisions, sometimes years after the fact.  Take these for example...

Sharks-Golden Knights, Game 7 (2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs, First Round): You don't have to go back very far to find a controversial call that turned a game (and a series).  Vegas had a 3-0 lead in Game 7 when Cody Eakin was called for a five-minute major and game misconduct for cross-checking Joe Pavelski to the ice on a face-off.  The power play led to an incredible San Jose comeback, as the Sharks scored four times with the man advantage before winning in overtime.  The Golden Knights called the penalty a "disgrace," and the officials weren't selected to work the next round of the playoffs.

USA-Finland (2019 World Women's Hockey Championships, Gold Medal Game): Talk about a wild sequence.  It's difficult to even try and explain what happened here.  Finland thought they'd scored in overtime to win a historic first World Championship.  However, after the Finns' on-ice celebration, the officials disallowed the goal and instead called a penalty on the American goalie (international rules are different, but even with the different rules, I still don't quite understand how they came to that decision).  Anyway, the U.S. went on to win in a shootout.

Rams-Saints (2018 NFC Championship Game): Ah yes, the pass interference non-call in the NFC Championship Game.  We all remember what happened there, too.  The officials missed an obvious pass interference on the Rams that would've given New Orleans a first-and-goal with a chance to run out the clock and move on to the Super Bowl.  Instead, LA got the ball back, kicked the game-tying field goal as time expired in regulation and won in overtime.

2018 US Open Women's Final: Serena Williams wasn't going to win last year's US Open final.  But that doesn't make what happened between her and the chair umpire any less controversial.  Serena received a warning for coaching, then a point penalty for breaking her racket.  Then, after some confusion about the coaching warning, a discussion with the chair umpire turned into a dispute, and he issued her a third code violation, resulting in the automatic loss of a game.  It completely overshadowed Naomi Osaka's dominant and well-earned victory.

France-Ireland (2010 World Cup Qualifying): There have been plenty of controversial calls/no-calls in international soccer, perhaps none more glaring than Thierry Henry's hand ball against Ireland in 2009.  It was the second leg of the UEFA playoffs.  The aggregate was tied 1-1 when France's William Gallas scored in extra time to send Les Bleues to the World Cup.  Except the goal never should've counted since it came off a pass from Henry, who had clearly handled the ball with his left hand first (something he admitted to).  But, in the pre-VAR days, the referee's call on the field stood, leaving the Irish justifiably upset.

2004 Olympic Men's Gymnastics Individual All-Around: What?!  A controversy in the Olympic final of a sport where the result is determined entirely by judging?  Say it ain't so!  Two years after the 2002 figure skating judging scandal, there was another in the men's gymnastics all-around at the Athens Games.  This one wasn't deliberate, however.  The judges made an honest mistake, giving the Korean bronze medalist a start value that was 0.1 points too low on one of the apparatus.  He finished less than 0.1 points behind American Paul Hamm, so, had he been given the correct start value, he would've been the gold medalist instead.

2002 Olympic Pairs Figure Skating: For years, figure skating was ripe for corruption and biased judging.  Never was that more evident than in the 2002 Olympic pairs free skate.  Canadians Jamie Sale and David Pelletier were clearly the best, but, by a 5-4 decision, the gold medal went to the Russian team of Yelena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze.  In the days following the competition, it was revealed that the French judge had agreed to vote for the Russians in exchange for a Russian vote for the French team in the ice dancing event.  As a result, her vote was thrown out and the Canadians were declared co-gold medalists.  Four years later in Torino, figure skating had dropped the 6.0 system with the cumulative point system still in use.

1988 Olympic Light Middleweight Boxing Gold Medal Bout: Roy Jones, Jr., is one of the greatest boxers in history.  At the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, he cruised into the light heavyweight final against South Korea's Park Si-Hun.  Jones dominated the final, winning at least three rounds and landing nearly three times as many punches as Park.  However, when they announced the winner of the bout, a 3-2 decision went to Park.  Park and the referee both apologized, one of the judges admitted they made a mistake, and all three judges voting against Jones were suspended.  Making the decision even sillier, Jones was named the best boxer of the entire Olympic tournament despite not winning a gold medal.

Argentina-England (1986 World Cup Quarterfinals): Is there any goal in the history of international soccer more famous than Diego Maradona and the "Hand of God?"  It was scoreless early in the second half when Maradona scored the goal that remains controversial to this day.  Every replay clearly shows Maradona punch the ball past the English goalkeeper and into the net.  Maradona played coy after the match, admitting it was deliberate without actually saying so.  The referee, however, didn't see it.  Maradona went on to score a truly majestic game-winner a few minutes later, and Argentina would eventually go on to hoist the World Cup.

Soviet Union-USA (1972 Olympic Men's Basketball Gold Medal Game): Forty-seven years later, this is still one of the most controversial results in Olympic history.  The U.S. had a 50-49 lead when mass confusion led to them granting a Russian timeout prior to an inbound play.  They reset the clock to three seconds and the Russians tried another inbound play.  After the last-second shot fell short, everybody assumed the U.S. had won the gold.  However, for reasons that are still unexplained, a FIBA official (who had no authority to do so) ordered the final three seconds replayed once more.  This time, the Russians completed a full-court pass and sank the game-winning layup, handing the U.S. its first-ever Olympic loss.  The Americans refused to accept their silver medals.  They're still sitting in a vault at IOC headquarters.