Horrendous last-minute finishes to a game are simply one of those situations that rears its ugly head from time to time.
Nothing hurts more as a fan than seeing your side get hammered by the sporting gods, or be on the end of a shocking decision from the man in the middle.
No sporting code is immune to a controversial finish that can decide the outcome of a game or race.
When the moment strikes some teams will grin and bear it, while others will hire lawyers and image consultants (*insert name of any South African cricketer).
Footy season has just kicked off in Australia and we thought it may be time to remind you of some of the more controversial finishes in recent sporting history.
Zharnel Hughes 2018 Commonwealth Games
The English sprinter in the final of the 200m was stripped of his gold medal after impeding the runner from Trinidad and Tobago. What made matters worse is the young English runner had done a lap of honour around the stadium without knowing he had lost out on the gold medal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQ5DsMVFNvw
Real Madrid v Juventus 2018
Christiano Ronaldo’s last-gasp penalty deep in injury time spared his side the wrath of Madrid fans worldwide as his side held on to progress to the semi-finals of the Champions League. The defending champions went into the second leg of their tie with Juventus with a comfortable 3-0 advantage.
Having just seen arch-rivals Barcelona dumped out of the competition, Juventus were on track for an upset against the Madrid side as they clawed back the goals to leave the tie delicately balanced at three goals apiece. Enter referee Michael Oliver who awarded Real Madrid a penalty with the game headed towards extra-time.
Veteran Italian goal-keeper Gianluigi Buffon was red-carded for his protest as Ronaldo duly converted the penalty to send Juventus packing.
Wests Tigers v Brisbane Broncos 2018
The West Tigers were the victims of a controversial penalty decision as they went down to the Brisbane Broncos in golden point.
The Tigers have been punching about their weight this season thanks to the calming influence of Kiwi veteran Benji Marshall.
After knocking off the top two sides in the opening rounds of the competition, the Tigers were on the end of a wrong call from the referee that left them beaten in extra time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-waBhYcNLhY
Yohan Blake 2018 Commonwealth Games
The second fastest man in the world failed to live up to the hype when he was comprehensively beaten to the gold medal in the 100m final at the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast. The Jamaican now faces a challenge for the bronze medal from Nigerian Seye Ogunlewe after a photo circulated online shows the Nigerian getting to the line first.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmYOq461eeI
Australia v Italy 2006 World Cup
While the World Cup will be remembered for Italy’s World Cup victory, the Azzurri almost didn’t make it to the main event against France. Italy were down to ten men when they faced the Aussies and with the clock ticking down left-back Fabio Grosso fell over Lucas Neil’s prone body in the penalty area and Francesco Totti converted the controversial penalty to send Italy through to the quarterfinals.
Australia v Iran 1998 World Cup Qualifier
The sporting gods didn’t smile down on Australia on this occasion with the Socceroos blowing a golden opportunity to make the World Cup. The Australians were in control of the tie when spectator Peter Hore ran onto the field and damaged the Iranian goal in the 48th minute. The extended delay allowed the Iranian side to regain control of the match and boot Australia out of World Cup contention with a 2-all draw.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZCdZJumt3c
West Coast Eagles v Port Adelaide 2017 Finals
Another case of the umpire deciding the fate of the ball game. The Eagles trailed the Power by 4-points with twenty seconds remaining in the game. The umpire deemed the tackle by the Power’s Jared Polec on Luke Shuey illegal and the Eagles half-forward kicked the goal after the siren to send the Power crashing out of the finals.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Br35FAO17hE
Tonga Rugby League World Cup 2017
The performance of Tonga was the feel-good story of the 2017 Rugby League World Cup. Tonga were robbed by a controversial call from the referee that saw the Pacific island side eliminated in a 20-18 loss.
Alex Ross BBL 2018
The clash between the Brisbane Heat and the Hobart Hurricanes won’t be remembered for the brilliant batting of D’Arcy Short but rather the run-out of Heat batsman Alex Ross. In the closing stages of the Heat run-chase, Ross was controversially dismissed for obstructing the field when he was struck by the ball while going for a second run. The ruling changed the course of the match with the Hurricanes going onto win the game by three runs in the face of a furious protest from Heat captain Brendon McCullum.