Referees are constantly stuck between a rock and a hard place. The call they make will be sure to anger at least half of the people watching the game. It’s a thankless job that takes an incredible amount of hard work to progress to the top level. Occasionally, referees make decisions so blatantly wrong that there’s nothing even the most casual of fans can do to avoid shouting at their TV screens or joining in on jeers in the stadium. Here are some of the most consequential, confusing, and downright comical refereeing mistakes throughout sports.
Josip Šimunić (eventually) sees red
The 2006 FIFA World Cup brought one of the most peculiar refereeing blunders in soccer. Croatia was fighting for their survival, needing a win against Australia to advance to the round of 16. With his squad winning 2-1, the Croatian defender Šimunić pulled back Socceroo star Harry Kewell, earning the defender a yellow card. Disaster struck in the 90th minute when Šimunić laid a crunching tackle on an opposing player. English referee Graham Poll showed the Croatian a second yellow card, which would normally add up to a red card. But Poll simply didn’t show Šimunić the red. Amazingly, Šimunić received a third yellow card for arguing with the official after the match had concluded, which culminated in a red card. This made him possibly the first player ever to receive three yellow cards in a match.
The “Fail Mary”
The 2012 NFL season began with officiating uncertainty. The referees had entered a lockout in the summer, and the league was forced to replace them for the beginning of the season with officiating crews from lower levels, even pulling some high school referees. A Week Two showdown between the Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks had fans begging for the refereeing lockout to end. The Seahawks were down by five, and they had the ball in Packer territory with less than ten seconds left on the clock. Quarterback Russell Wilson scrambled around the pocket, looking for an open receiver. He spotted Golden Tate in the back corner and aimed to deliver to his target. Tate blatantly pushed Green Bay’s Sam Shields in the back, causing the defensive back to fall over.
This missed call was compounded by the calamity that occurred when Tate “caught” the ball for a miraculous touchdown. One official signalled that the ball was intercepted by Packer M.D. Jennings, while another signalled touchdown. To everyone watching, it was clear that Jennings had intercepted the football. After 10 minutes of confusion, the replacement referees reached a verdict: Touchdown. This debacle quickly accelerated negotiations to end the lockout, and an agreement was reached two days after the game.
The Imperfect Game
In the 240,000-plus games of Major League Baseball played, only 24 of them have been a perfect game, making it one of the rarest achievements in sports. A perfect game is when a pitcher retires all 27 batters he faces without allowing a baserunner. However, it should be 25 perfect games. On June 2, 2010, Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga only needed to get Cleveland utility man Jason Donald out to go down in baseball history. Donald hit a sharp ground ball to first baseman and future Hall of Famer Miguel Cabrera, who fielded it cleanly and threw over to Galarraga, who was covering first base.
The throw clearly beat Donald, and he should have been called out. However, first base umpire Jim Joyce inexplicably called the runner safe. The immensity of this decision was realized by fans and players alike. Cabrera looked as if he was on the brink of tears. What followed was an even more unexpected tale of forgiveness. Joyce, who was previously voted the best umpire in the league by the players, was beside himself when he realized he got the call wrong. While Joyce talked to Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski, Galarraga entered the room and shared a hug with Joyce. The Tigers pitcher left the umpire with a simple message that everyone should remember the next time they’re shouting at a referee for a blown call: “We are all human.”
