Top 10 Most Controversial Sports Moments

Lance Armstrong won seven consecutive Tour de France titles (1999-2005) while running the most sophisticated doping programme in cycling history. USADA's 2012 investigation described it as "the most successful doping programme sport has ever seen," involving EPO, blood transfusions, testosterone, and cortisone. Armstrong was stripped of all seven titles and received a lifetime ban. His Livestrong cancer charity — built on his "clean" image — was collateral damage.

Palestinian militants from the Black September organisation took 11 Israeli athletes hostage at the 1972 Munich Olympics. All 11 hostages, five terrorists, and one German police officer were killed during a botched rescue attempt. IOC President Avery Brundage's decision to continue the Games after a brief memorial — declaring "the Games must go on" — remains one of the most controversial calls in Olympic history and raised permanent questions about security, politics, and sport.

The McLaren Report revealed that Russia operated a state-sponsored doping programme involving over 1,000 athletes across 30 sports from 2011 to 2015. At the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, FSB agents swapped dirty urine samples through a hole in the wall of the anti-doping laboratory. Russia was banned from competing under its own flag at the 2018 and 2022 Olympics — the most sweeping sanction in Olympic history — though critics argue the punishment was still too lenient.

In 2015, the US Department of Justice indicted 14 FIFA officials on charges of racketeering, wire fraud, and money laundering involving over $150 million in bribes spanning 24 years. The investigation implicated the awarding of World Cups to Russia (2018) and Qatar (2022), the latter involving allegations of bribery, modern slavery in stadium construction (with thousands of migrant worker deaths), and the bizarre decision to move the tournament to winter.

The Houston Astros used a camera system to steal opposing catchers' signs during their 2017 World Series-winning season, relaying them to batters by banging on a trash can in the dugout. MLB's investigation confirmed the scheme but controversially allowed the Astros to keep their championship title and issued no player suspensions. The scandal damaged baseball's integrity and the phrase "bang the trash can" entered the lexicon as shorthand for institutional cheating.

In January 1994, associates of figure skater Tonya Harding attacked rival Nancy Kerrigan with a baton, striking her knee to prevent her from competing at the US Championships. Both skaters competed at the Lillehammer Olympics — Kerrigan won silver, Harding finished eighth. Harding was later banned for life from competitive skating. The incident became a cultural phenomenon that transcended sport, turning the working-class Harding vs. privileged Kerrigan narrative into a class warfare story.

Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson won the 100m final at the 1988 Seoul Olympics in a world record 9.79 seconds — only to be stripped of his gold medal three days later after testing positive for stanozolol. The race, once called "the dirtiest race in history," later saw six of the eight finalists linked to doping. Johnson's downfall made him the face of drug cheating in sport, but the subsequent revelations about his competitors raised the uncomfortable question: was he simply the one who got caught?

Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised black-gloved fists on the medal podium at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics in a silent protest against racial inequality. Both were expelled from the Games and faced death threats. Australian silver medallist Peter Norman, who wore a human rights badge in solidarity, was ostracised by his own country. Decades later, all three are celebrated as civil rights icons — but the incident remains controversial as a debate about whether sport should be a platform for political protest.

England captain Douglas Jardine's strategy of bowling at the bodies of Australian batsmen to neutralise Don Bradman during the 1932-33 Ashes series was so controversial it nearly caused a diplomatic crisis between Britain and Australia. The tactic was legal but considered unsportsmanlike — several Australian batsmen were seriously injured. The series led to changes in cricket's laws and remains the sport's most famous example of the tension between winning at all costs and the "spirit of the game."

Lance Armstrong won seven consecutive Tour de France titles (1999-2005) while running the most sophisticated doping programme in cycling history. USADA's 2012 investigation described it as "the most successful doping programme sport has ever seen," involving EPO, blood transfusions, testosterone, and cortisone. Armstrong was stripped of all seven titles and received a lifetime ban. His Livestrong cancer charity — built on his "clean" image — was collateral damage.

Palestinian militants from the Black September organisation took 11 Israeli athletes hostage at the 1972 Munich Olympics. All 11 hostages, five terrorists, and one German police officer were killed during a botched rescue attempt. IOC President Avery Brundage's decision to continue the Games after a brief memorial — declaring "the Games must go on" — remains one of the most controversial calls in Olympic history and raised permanent questions about security, politics, and sport.

The McLaren Report revealed that Russia operated a state-sponsored doping programme involving over 1,000 athletes across 30 sports from 2011 to 2015. At the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, FSB agents swapped dirty urine samples through a hole in the wall of the anti-doping laboratory. Russia was banned from competing under its own flag at the 2018 and 2022 Olympics — the most sweeping sanction in Olympic history — though critics argue the punishment was still too lenient.

In 2015, the US Department of Justice indicted 14 FIFA officials on charges of racketeering, wire fraud, and money laundering involving over $150 million in bribes spanning 24 years. The investigation implicated the awarding of World Cups to Russia (2018) and Qatar (2022), the latter involving allegations of bribery, modern slavery in stadium construction (with thousands of migrant worker deaths), and the bizarre decision to move the tournament to winter.

The Houston Astros used a camera system to steal opposing catchers' signs during their 2017 World Series-winning season, relaying them to batters by banging on a trash can in the dugout. MLB's investigation confirmed the scheme but controversially allowed the Astros to keep their championship title and issued no player suspensions. The scandal damaged baseball's integrity and the phrase "bang the trash can" entered the lexicon as shorthand for institutional cheating.

In January 1994, associates of figure skater Tonya Harding attacked rival Nancy Kerrigan with a baton, striking her knee to prevent her from competing at the US Championships. Both skaters competed at the Lillehammer Olympics — Kerrigan won silver, Harding finished eighth. Harding was later banned for life from competitive skating. The incident became a cultural phenomenon that transcended sport, turning the working-class Harding vs. privileged Kerrigan narrative into a class warfare story.

Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson won the 100m final at the 1988 Seoul Olympics in a world record 9.79 seconds — only to be stripped of his gold medal three days later after testing positive for stanozolol. The race, once called "the dirtiest race in history," later saw six of the eight finalists linked to doping. Johnson's downfall made him the face of drug cheating in sport, but the subsequent revelations about his competitors raised the uncomfortable question: was he simply the one who got caught?

Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised black-gloved fists on the medal podium at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics in a silent protest against racial inequality. Both were expelled from the Games and faced death threats. Australian silver medallist Peter Norman, who wore a human rights badge in solidarity, was ostracised by his own country. Decades later, all three are celebrated as civil rights icons — but the incident remains controversial as a debate about whether sport should be a platform for political protest.

England captain Douglas Jardine's strategy of bowling at the bodies of Australian batsmen to neutralise Don Bradman during the 1932-33 Ashes series was so controversial it nearly caused a diplomatic crisis between Britain and Australia. The tactic was legal but considered unsportsmanlike — several Australian batsmen were seriously injured. The series led to changes in cricket's laws and remains the sport's most famous example of the tension between winning at all costs and the "spirit of the game."