The year 2022 witnessed many sporting events that were conducted around the globe. New records replaced the old ones, Lionel Messi finally lifted the FIFA World Cup, India got their record back on track against Pakistan in World Cups and many more. However, as we look towards the dawning new year, several controversies rocked the sporting world in 2022. The athletes involved in these sports controversies might want to go back to the past to redo them. But, can’t do it!

We have listed below the top sports controversies that happened in 2022. 

  • Rishabh Pant Calls his Players Back – The Delhi Capitals skipper did the most unthinkable thing during an IPL game, i.e to call his players back to the pavilion. During a match against Rajasthan Royals, Pant signaled his players to return to the pavilion after the on-field umpires refused to declare an above-waist delivery no ball. Delhi required 36 of the last over. Rovman Powell hit the first three balls for six. The 3rd ball of the over was above the waist and the DC players requested the on-field umpires to declare it a no-ball. The umpires did not comply. This sparked a huge debate in the cricketing fraternity. 

  • Parag v Patel – It was the 39th match of IPL 2022 when fierce fighting erupted between RR’s Riyan Parag and RCB’s Harshal Patel. Parag hit Patel for a couple of boundaries which sparked the fight. The players refused to shake hands after the match concluded sparking a huge controversy. 

  • COVID Positive but, Who Cares – A huge controversy sparked when Taliah McGrath was allowed to take the field even though she had tested positive for COVID-19. The Aussie all-rounder was showing mild symptoms but was cleared to play the final of the CWG 2022 games. The world is still grappling with the aftereffects of the Corona pandemic and the administrators’ decision to field a COVID-positive player gathered a lot of wind at that time.

  • Fine! But, Do Not Enter our Village – A very mind-disturbing incident came into the limelight that included CWG medal-winner Lovlina Borgohain’s coach Sandhya Gurung. She reported having been treated differently by her villagers and she was also not allowed to enter her village upon returning. The issue became viral on social media and a lot of focus was put on the issue of mental harassment. 

  • No Place to Stay – A big controversy came up during the Commonwealth Games 2022 when the organizers failed to accommodate all the participants in the athlete village. A lot of the athletes, who could not accommodate inside the athlete village, were later put up in 5 small villages. Many questions were raised when this matter came to the foreground. 

  • The No-Ball Controversy in T20 World Cup – The no-ball controversy during India vs Pakistan T20 world cup game was one of the major controversies that happened in 2022. A waist-high full toss in the last over from Mohammad Nawaz was given a no-ball after Kohli gestured to the on-field umpires. Kohli faced a lot of criticism for that. The controversy continued to the next delivery which was the free-hit delivery. The ball hit the stumps and went towards the 3rd man boundary. By the time the ball returned to the wicketkeeper, Kohli had managed 3 runs. All these events divided the cricketing world and a huge noise was generated. 

  • FIFA World Cup 2022 Controversy – The recently concluded FIFA World Cup 2022 was not short of controversies. First, controversy regarding Human Rights came to the fore. Qatar’s decision of banning free sex, expensive edible items for the fans and footballers, alcohol and living with girlfriends also created a lot of noise during the Qatar World Cup. Controversy regarding sidelining the LGBTQ community also came up during the world cup and the supporters were pretty vocal till the last moment of the competition.

Do you remember any other sporting controversies that took place in 2022? Reach out to us to let us know and we will include them in our blog!