List of sporting scandals: Difference between revisions

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*[[Sonny Bill Williams]] (2008) - Two days before a Bulldogs match against the Dragons, Williams broke his five-year contract (he was in the first year of that contract) and fled Australia to play rugby union in France without notifying the club or the NRL in advance. He was later suspended by the NRL for five years.
*[[Sonny Bill Williams]] (2008) - Two days before a Bulldogs match against the Dragons, Williams broke his five-year contract (he was in the first year of that contract) and fled Australia to play rugby union in France without notifying the club or the NRL in advance. He was later suspended by the NRL for five years.
*[[Brisbane Broncos]] (2008) - players [[Karmichael Hunt]], [[Darius Boyd]] and [[Sam Thaiday]] are engulfed in allegations of sexual abuse against a woman in a cubicle of a Brisbane nightclub in September 2008. All three however were exonerated in November that year due to lack of evidence.
*[[Brisbane Broncos]] (2008) - players [[Karmichael Hunt]], [[Darius Boyd]] and [[Sam Thaiday]] are engulfed in allegations of sexual abuse against a woman in a cubicle of a Brisbane nightclub in September 2008. All three however were exonerated in November that year due to lack of evidence.
*During a match against the [[Penrith Panthers]] early in the 2009 season, the Bulldogs achieved a 28-26 win after it was revealed there were 14 men on the field when the match winning try was scored. As a result, the Bulldogs were deducted two competition points, thus costing them that year's minor premiership.
*During a match against the [[Penrith Panthers]] early in the 2009 season, the Bulldogs achieved a 28-26 win after which it was revealed there were 14 men on the field when the match winning try was scored. As a result, the Bulldogs were deducted two competition points, thus costing them that year's minor premiership. Later on in the season, the Bulldogs were denied another victory (in round 10 against the [[St. George Illawarra Dragons]]) after what seemed to be the match-winning try was disallowed by video referee Steve Clark. For his part, Clark was sacked for one week for the blunder.
*It is alleged that the [[Sydney Roosters]] [[match fixing|threw the final match]] of their [[2009 Sydney Roosters season|2009 season]] against the [[North Queensland Cowboys]] in September 2009. The Roosters had led 16-0 before halftime, only to lose the match 32-16. Roosters players were later exonerated due to lack of evidence.
*It is alleged that the [[Sydney Roosters]] [[match fixing|threw the final match]] of their [[2009 Sydney Roosters season|2009 season]] against the [[North Queensland Cowboys]] in September 2009. The Roosters had led 16-0 before halftime, only to lose the match 32-16. Roosters players were later exonerated due to lack of evidence.
*[[Melbourne Storm salary cap breach]] (2010) - the Melbourne Storm were stripped of the 2007 and 2009 premierships and 2006-2008 minor premierships, fined an Australian sporting record $1.689 million, ordered to cut $1.0125 million from their payroll, deducted all eight premiership points received during the season and barred from receiving premiership points for the rest of the [[2010 NRL season|season]] after Storm officials confessed to a running a well-organized dual contract and bookkeeping system that concealed serious and systematic breaches of the salary cap totaling $3.17 million over five years from NRL officials. The matter has been referred to ASIC, the Australian Tax Office, the Victorian State Revenue Office, and the Victoria Police.
*[[Melbourne Storm salary cap breach]] (2010) - the Melbourne Storm were stripped of the 2007 and 2009 premierships and 2006-2008 minor premierships, fined an Australian sporting record $1.689 million, ordered to cut $1.0125 million from their payroll, deducted all eight premiership points received during the season and barred from receiving premiership points for the rest of the [[2010 NRL season|season]] after Storm officials confessed to a running a well-organized dual contract and bookkeeping system that concealed serious and systematic breaches of the salary cap totaling $3.17 million over five years from NRL officials. The matter has been referred to ASIC, the Australian Tax Office, the Victorian State Revenue Office, and the Victoria Police.

Revision as of 00:26, 1 February 2011

This is a list of major sports scandals:

Scandals in baseball

Scandals in college sports

American football scandals

Match-fixing scandals

Ice hockey scandals

Soccer scandals

Rugby union scandals

Olympic Games scandals

Cricket scandals

Australian Football League scandals

  • Carlton Football Club salary cap scandal (2002) - in the same year as the NRL Bulldogs scandal, the Blues were fined a then-Australian sporting record $987,500, forfeited priority picks in the 2002 National Draft, forfeited first and second round picks in the National Draft for two years and were excluded from the 2003 pre-season draft as a result of serious and systematic breaches of the salary cap totalling $1.37 million between 1998 and 2001. Carlton struggled for the next seven years as a result of these penalties, finishing no higher than 11th in 2004 and winning the wooden spoon in 2002, 2005 and 2006.
  • 2004 - St Kilda Football Club players Leigh Montagna and Stephen Milne were engulfed in allegations of rape, but both players were later cleared.
  • Line in the Sand Match (2004) - an infamous match between rivals Hawthorn and Essendon became notorious for a five-minute bench-clearing brawl occurring shortly after halftime. Record tribunal penalties as well as fines were handed out to fifteen players.
  • Whispers in the Sky (2005) - an umpire from a match between Fremantle and St Kilda was quoted as saying: "Now I know what it feels like to have a victory", in reference to a number of free kicks awarded to the home team, all in which resulted in goals, and all in which contributed to Fremantle's victory.
  • Ben Cousins drug scandal (2006–present) - fired as West Coast Eagles captain in 2006 following an off-field incident; suspended indefinitely by his club in early 2007 before being de-listed and then de-registered for 12 months by the AFL later the same year. Several other off-field incidents have since followed.
  • Sirengate (2006) - the final siren in an AFL match between St Kilda and Fremantle did not sound loud enough, allowing for the Saints to kick a match-tying behind which was later stripped by the AFL Commission, as well as the two competition points gained from the "draw". AFL Records were modified to record this as a "win" to Fremantle as AFL rules stated that the match should have been completed.
  • Simon Black, Fraser Gehrig and Michael Voss were charged with assault after a brawl outside a nightclub on the eve of the 2006 AFL Grand Final.
  • In the first Western Derby for season 2007, Fremantle's Des Headland gets involved in an on-field altercation with West Coast's Adam Selwood when it is alleged that Selwood said: "I f***ed her last night" in reference to Headland's daughter which was tattooed on his arm. Both players faced the AFL Tribunal the following week on charges of striking and wrestling (Headland) and using abusive language (Selwood). Both players were found guilty, but Headland wasn't suspended due to the nature of the incident.
    • At the conclusion of the same match, Michael Braun, upon winning the Ross Glendinning Medal, said in front of a live television audience: "Let's have a f***ing good year!". Braun was fined $5,000 for the stunt.
  • The final match of the 2007 AFL premiership season between Melbourne and Carlton was subject to allegations of "tanking", in that the loser of that match would receive a priority pick in that year's AFL Draft. Carlton lost the match, their 11th in succession, and therefore received the priority pick as a result of winning only four matches that year (only Richmond had finished lower). This allowed them to secure then-West Coast Eagles captain Chris Judd as well as the first priority pick in the draft, Matthew Kreuzer. This was seen as the beginning of the end of a very dark period for the Blues in the wake of the salary cap breaches that engulfed the club five years earlier.
  • Former West Coast Eagles wingman Chris Mainwaring is found dead in his Cottesloe home on October 1, 2007, apparently due to a drug overdose. Ben Cousins is believed to have had a role in Mainwaring's final hours; he claimed to have given him fast food late on the night of September 30, 2007. In the same month, Cousins is sacked by the West Coast Eagles for repeated off-field offences.
  • Sydney Swans (2008):
    • Barry Hall king hit: During a match against the West Coast Eagles, Swans forward Barry Hall king hit West Coast defender Brent Staker behind play. Hall was subsequently suspended for seven matches. During the same match he suffered an arm injury.
    • During a match against North Melbourne, the Swans scored a point to level the scores, but later it was revealed that the point was scored when the Swans had 19 men on the field. The result stood and the Swans were allowed to keep the two premiership points gained from the draw, but they were fined $55,000 and the AFL amended its interchange laws to prevent such incidents occurring again.
  • Dean Solomon (2008): Solomon was suspended for eight weeks for elbowing Geelong's Cameron Ling in the face during a match.
  • Brendan Fevola's drunken antics at the 2009 Brownlow Medal saw him fired from the Nine Network and fined $10,000 by the AFL. He was traded to the Brisbane Lions the following month.
  • St Kilda Football Club (2010):
    • Star recruit Andrew Lovett was de-listed by the club one day after being officially charged with rape.
    • In March 2010, a 16-year-old schoolgirl fell pregnant after it was alleged that she had slept with two Saints players when the team was in Sydney playing a premiership match against the Sydney Swans.
    • The Saints also became involved in the Melbourne Storm's salary cap scandal as Brian Waldron, Matt Hanson and Cameron Vale were the club's CEO, CFO and Financial Officer respectively prior to being at the Melbourne Storm. The Saints however were cleared of any wrongdoing, however in 2005 (the year all three left the club) the Saints were fined $40,000 over an infringement involving minor sponsor Xbox.
    • In December 2010, three Saints players - Nick Riewoldt, Zac Dawson and Nick Dal Santo had nude photos of themselves in sexual situations published on Facebook by an anonymous 17-year-old girl who claimed it was revenge for poor treatment from the players after becoming pregnant to one of the many St Kilda players she had slept with. The players denied knowing the girl, claiming that the photos had been taken by teammates while on holiday in Miami.

National Rugby League scandals

  • The South Sydney Rabbitohs were excluded from the NRL for two years for failing to meet the criteria bought forward by the NRL in its plans to change the direction of the game in 1999. They were readmitted in 2002, however limited success has followed since (they did however manage a finals appearance in 2007, their first for 18 years, but lost their only final).
  • Then-Wests Tigers winger John Hopoate is sacked by the club after he was suspended by the NRL for 12 weeks following an incident in which he was alleged to have placed his finger into the anuses of three North Queensland Cowboys players during a match in March 2001. Hopoate claimed that he was trying to give the players a "wedgie" but all three disagreed with Hopoate's claims.
  • The Canterbury Bulldogs were fined $500,000 and deducted 37 premiership points received during the season (the only points that remained at that point were four points attained from two byes during the season) for gross salary cap breaches totaling $2.13 million over three years, including $920,000 in 2002 alone; the points penalty meant that the club won the 2002 wooden spoon (Souths would have won the wooden spoon if not for the breaches). Two senior club officials were jailed for fraud as a result of the breaches.
  • In the 2004 NRL pre-season, Bulldogs players were alleged to have been involved in a sex scandal during a pre-season trip to Coffs Harbour. Most of the players involved were later exonerated due to lack of evidence.
  • Danny Williams was suspended for 18 matches for a king-hit on Wests Tigers star Mark O'Neill during an NRL match in 2004.
  • Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles winger John Hopoate is sacked by the club and forced into retirement following a 17-match suspension received for striking Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks forward Keith Galloway in the 30th minute of a match in early 2005. This turned out to be Hopoate's final ever NRL game.
  • Craig Gower was fired as Panthers captain after a string of alcohol-fuelled incidents at a charity golf event in December 2005. It was alleged that he argued with and verbally abused several guests, groped the teenage daughter of league legend Wayne Pearce, chased Pearce's son with a beer bottle before vomiting on him, streaked around the resort, totaled a golf cart, held a butter knife to the throat of a Sydney radio personality before throwing it at resort guests, and engaged in a brawl with resort security before being ejected from the official function and detained by police.[3][4] Gower was handed a "final warning" by the National Rugby League, suspended for four matches and fined $100,000, with $90,000 to be paid to an NRL program encouraging the responsible use of alcohol by league players, and $10,000 to be paid to the resort to replace the destroyed golf cart.[5]
  • Grannygate (2006) - the New Zealand national rugby league team controversially chose former Queensland hooker Nathan Fien to play in the post-season Tri-Nations when Fien claimed to be eligible for selection through his great grandmother. As Fien was not deemed eligible yet, the two competition points New Zealand gained from beating England were deducted, however it didn't deter Fien from playing further Tests for New Zealand or the team making the final, which they lost in golden point.
  • Sonny Bill Williams (2008) - Two days before a Bulldogs match against the Dragons, Williams broke his five-year contract (he was in the first year of that contract) and fled Australia to play rugby union in France without notifying the club or the NRL in advance. He was later suspended by the NRL for five years.
  • Brisbane Broncos (2008) - players Karmichael Hunt, Darius Boyd and Sam Thaiday are engulfed in allegations of sexual abuse against a woman in a cubicle of a Brisbane nightclub in September 2008. All three however were exonerated in November that year due to lack of evidence.
  • During a match against the Penrith Panthers early in the 2009 season, the Bulldogs achieved a 28-26 win after which it was revealed there were 14 men on the field when the match winning try was scored. As a result, the Bulldogs were deducted two competition points, thus costing them that year's minor premiership. Later on in the season, the Bulldogs were denied another victory (in round 10 against the St. George Illawarra Dragons) after what seemed to be the match-winning try was disallowed by video referee Steve Clark. For his part, Clark was sacked for one week for the blunder.
  • It is alleged that the Sydney Roosters threw the final match of their 2009 season against the North Queensland Cowboys in September 2009. The Roosters had led 16-0 before halftime, only to lose the match 32-16. Roosters players were later exonerated due to lack of evidence.
  • Melbourne Storm salary cap breach (2010) - the Melbourne Storm were stripped of the 2007 and 2009 premierships and 2006-2008 minor premierships, fined an Australian sporting record $1.689 million, ordered to cut $1.0125 million from their payroll, deducted all eight premiership points received during the season and barred from receiving premiership points for the rest of the season after Storm officials confessed to a running a well-organized dual contract and bookkeeping system that concealed serious and systematic breaches of the salary cap totaling $3.17 million over five years from NRL officials. The matter has been referred to ASIC, the Australian Tax Office, the Victorian State Revenue Office, and the Victoria Police.
  • Bulldogs player Ryan Tandy is engulfed in a betting scandal involving his team playing against the North Queensland Cowboys in a match in late 2010. Tandy had allegedly bet that the first scoring play would be a Cowboys penalty goal, which almost eventuated (Tandy dropped the ball from the kick-off, and later conceded a penalty in the Cowboys' half).
  • In the 2010 post-season, a photograph circulated around social networking site Twitter depicting Canberra Raiders player Joel Monaghan in a compromising position with a dog. Monaghan quit the club on November 9 just as the club was about to sack him.

State of Origin scandals

  • With six minutes to go in game one of the 2000 State of Origin series, Queensland captain Gorden Tallis was sent off for allegedly calling referee Bill Harrigan "a f***ing cheat" whilst arguing that one of New South Wales' tries had been scored illegally. Queensland went on to lose the match 20-16, and the series 3-0.
  • Reports of a rift between then-NSW coach Phil Gould and captain Andrew Johns surfaced more than two weeks before the first game of the 2003 State of Origin series after it was revealed that Gould was disappointed in most of the players' performances in the preceding City vs. Country match, and in particular Johns. The rift was resolved prior to the first game and Johns eventually did play out the series.[6]
  • Prior to the first game of the 2004 State of Origin series, NSW players Anthony Minichiello and Mark Gasnier were suspended following sexual abuse allegations, one of which involved Gasnier sending a text message to an unknown woman on Minichiello's phone.
  • Prior to the third game of the 2009 State of Origin series it was revealed that numerous Queensland players had taken a cocktail of drugs and energy drinks in the lead up to the match, which they lost 28-16. The revelations were only made public after the match, and this was put down to their poor Game Three performance. In the same match, players from both Queensland and New South Wales teams engaged in a huge on-field brawl just two minutes from fulltime, when Queensland prop Steve Price was knocked out by a punch from New South Wales prop Brett White. This led to Blues forward Trent Waterhouse being sent off (the first NSW player to be sent off, and the first send-off in Origin since 2000) however he was exonerated because he had no major role in the brawl. A follow up brawl 30 seconds from full-time saw Ben Creagh and Sam Thaiday both sin-binned for fighting; leaving New South Wales and Queensland with just 11 and 12 men on the field respectively by the final siren.
  • New South Wales State of Origin (2010) - assistant coach Andrew Johns is stood down following racist remarks which were reportedly aimed at Queensland centre Greg Inglis whilst Johns was addressing the NSW Origin squad. Johns had allegedly instructed NSW debutant Beau Scott to "shut that black c*** down" (this in reference to Inglis), triggering teammate Timana Tahu's exit from the camp. Inglis went on to have what many described as "the game of his life" by scoring the first try in Queensland's 34-6 demolition of New South Wales and subsequently wrap up Queensland's fifth-consecutive State of Origin series victory. Queensland later went on to win the series 3-0, the worst on-and-off field performance by any New South Wales Origin team since 1995. A full-scale investigation into the behaviour of the New South Wales team was conducted; which culminated in the sacking of coach Craig Bellamy after three unsuccessful State of Origin campaigns for the Blues, and the withdrawal of main sponsor Aussie Home Loans after just two seasons. Ricky Stuart was later named his successor.

Scandals in motorsport

Scandals in horse racing

  • Horse murders -- From 1975 - 1995 wealthy owners and trainers of show jumping horses conspire to electrocute and otherwise kill over-valued as well as under-performing animals in a 20-year-long scheme to defraud insurance companies; crimes also committed during this equestrian sports scandal include extortion, mail fraud, animal cruelty, and the murder of at least one human being.
  • Fine Cotton/Bold Personality (1984) – A "ring-in" (substitution scam) in Australia involving several elite figures in the sport, in which the schemers attempted to pass off Bold Personality as the much less talented Fine Cotton in a low-level race.
  • Shanghai Syndicate case (1986)
  • Death of Alydar (1990) – The death of the star stallion was initially reported as an accident, but was later speculated to have been a murder motivated by an attempt of his financially troubled owner, Calumet Farm, to collect on a large insurance policy.
  • 1993 Grand National fiasco
  • Stanley Chin race fixing scandal (1996)
  • Operation Green Grass (2002)
  • Kieren Fallon race fixing scandal
  • Operation Twin Towns (2006)

Scandals in boxing

Scandals in sumo wrestling

Scandals in tennis

Doping scandals

References

  1. ^ Новости NEWSru.com :: Скандал на Кубке Содружества: чемпионы Армении отказались играть с азербайджанцами
  2. ^ Benammar, Emily (2009-08-18). "Dean Richards ban: how 'Bloodgate' saga unfolded". London: The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2009-08-18. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  3. ^ The AGE, 22 December, 2006. Story: "NRL wants probe into Gower grope claims"
  4. ^ BBC News, 04 January, 2006. Story: "Gower fired as captain after drunken binge"
  5. ^ New Zealand Herald, 23 January, 2006. Story: "League: NRL gives Gower his final warning"
  6. ^ Johns moved to ease perceived rift with Gould - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
  7. ^ http://www.nhra.com/50th/news/headlines.html?year=1991
  8. ^ http://freespace.virgin.net/shalco.com/tte_ban.htm
  9. ^ "1993: Tennis star stabbed". BBC News. 1993-04-30.

External links