For boxing fans, there was little doubt. Jeff Fenech had beaten his great foe Azumah Nelson on a Las Vegas night in 1991, and claimed his fourth world title. Only the judges saw the fight differently, and as we have learned 31 years later, incorrectly. Three decades after the fight, Fench was awarded the points decision after a re-judging of the fight determined he was the clear winner.
It was overdue justice for Fenech but boxing’s decision to re-judge a fight – and re-write the history books – opens up a fascinating Pandora’s Box.
What other Australian sporting moments could do with a re-judging? If other sports followed boxing’s lead, what other massive calls or injustices could be reviewed for a second edition of the history books? Or just a few ‘moral victory’ asterixes, at least.
Here is an unscientific list of contenders.
Warnie’s century
Shane Warne was the greatest bowler in the history of cricket, but he always fancied himself with the bat as well. He averaged 17 in Test cricket and made 12 Test half-centuries but never a Test century. His closest was 99 against New Zealand in 2001 in Perth, when he was caught out with an ill-advised swipe in the second-last over of the day.
Replays later showed, however, that Daniel Vettori over-stepped when bowling and should have been no-balled. And Warne should have instead been given one more run … and a maiden Test century.
Shane Warne was caught for 99 off a no-ball.Credit:Cricket Australia
“Apparently it was a no-ball. If there was DRS … can you do restrospective and take it back and give it?” Warne joked on Fox Sports in 2021.
“Give me a hundred.”
In the spirit of righting egregious wrongs, Fenech-style, the International Cricket Council’s next AGM should add a review the no-ball decision and posthumously award a century to Shane Keith Warne.
Socceroos’ diving woe, 2006 World Cup
The Socceroos had a golden run in 2006, after qualified for the World Cup via John Aloisi and then capturing the nation on a run through the tournament that saw them in a round of 16 showdown with Italy.
With scores locked at 0-0 and deep into added time, Lucas Neill slid in to challenge the ball at the feet of Italy’s Fabio Grosso. It was in the box and Grosso was rewarded for a theatrical dive by winning a penalty, and Italy – who went on to win the World Cup – progressed by converting and winning 1-0.
Australians were outraged and even FIFA boss Sepp Blatter said the Socceroos deserved to go through (if that opinion counts for anything anymore), saying there’d been too much diving at the World Cup.
Fabio Grosso was awarded a penalty for this Lucas Neill tackle.Credit:FIFA
“The Socceroos should have gone into the quarter-finals in place of Italy,” Blatter said. “I think there was too much cheating on the players’ side.”
Would Australia also have gone on to win the World Cup? Obviously, yes.
No Broadwalk, 2013 Ashes
Stuart Broad was helping to fight a tailend resistance in the first Test of the 2013 Ashes at Trent Bridge when he faced Ashton Agar and edged a catch, via a rebound from Brad Haddin’s gloves, to Michael Clarke at slip. Or so everyone thought, bar umpire Aleem Dar. He was unmoved and so was Broad, who famously declined to walk despite admitting later he knew he’d hit it.
On 37 at the time, Broad added another 28 runs to his total and England went on to win the Test by just 14 runs. The hosts then won the second and fourth Tests to win the Ashes 3-0. It’s a stretch to say the whole Ashes series hinged on it but it was a pivotal moment in an evenly contested series.
Stuart Broad was given not out by Aleem Dar for this clear edge.Credit:FoxSports
Campo’s clanger, 1989 Lions
One of the most famous clangers in Australian rugby history may have been unfairly maligned, after all. In the British Lions tour of 1989, David Campese’s hurried pass to Greg Martin found grass instead of the man at the Sydney Football Stadium and Welsh great Ieuan Evans pounced for a try. The Lions won 19-18, and the series 2-1.
But if a TMO reviewed the decision with today’s angles, there is a decent argument Martin actually grounded the ball first and the Lions should have had a scrum feed only, not a try.
In 2012, Martin said: “Having seen that again, there is no doubt whatsoever if there was a TMO it would be no try. My problem was I didn’t protest. Ieuan started celebrating and he went from that. I was too late, the French ref awarded the try. That would have changed everything.”
Six again, 2019 NRL Grand Final
Up against a Roosters team who’d dominated the season, the unfancied Raiders were still in with a good chance of claiming the 2019 NRL premiership with scores locked at 8-all, with eight minutes left on the clock.
The Raiders were on the attack when referee Ben Cummins signalled a six-again call, before putting his hand down and reversing the decision. Raiders playmaker Jack Wighton, having seen Cummins’ first call, took a tackle and the ball was turned over.
The Roosters scored two plays later and won the game 14-8, and the NRL admitted later the six-again call was a stuff up. To their credit, Canberra copped it on the chin and aimed to win the next one, but the Raiders haven’t got as close as they did that night. Outcome of a review? Beers on the NRL at every Raiders’ home game next year.
Kaspa’s glove, 2005 Ashes
The famous photo of Brett Lee and Andrew Flintoff at the end of the second Ashes Test in 2005 – and England’s historic series win – may never have happened if the decision to not use DRS in the series wasn’t made before battle commenced.
Michael Kasprowicz was caught behind in a thriller at Edbagston in 2005.Credit:FoxSports
Lee had famously batted with his fellow bowlers to within two runs of victory at Edgbaston when Michael Kasprowicz was caught behind, with the ball catching his right glove as he fended off a Steve Harmison short-ball.
Replays showed, however, that Kasprowicz’s right hand was off the bat at the moment of contact and via a DRS review would have likely reversed Billy Bowden’s finger of death. If Australia bagged two more runs, they’d have won and been 2-0 up in the series, but instead went on to lose 2-1.
Housman’s busted clock
Before Kieren Perkins and Grant Hackett, Glen Housman was Australia’s 1500m superfish and the young Queenslander proved he was a superstar when he broke the 1500m world record in 1989 with a dominant swim at the Australian Commonwealth Games trial in Adelaide. Housman stopped the clock at 14:53.59 … or he would have if the clock was working.
The electronic timing system malfunctioned and didn’t stop, and despite many hand-timing results confirming his time, Housman’s world record was not officially recognised. He was denied due recognition by a busted clock, and was later overshadowed by Kieran Perkins’ emergence. Perkins broke the 1500m record in 1991, and Housman claimed an underappreciated silver behind his fellow Australian at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona.
Wronged Raelene, 1971 Olympics
Raelene Boyle finished her stellar athletics career with three Olympic silver medals but she was robbed of two golds, at least, after competing against the doped East Germans during the 1970s.
In the 1972 Munich Olympics, Boyle finished second in the 100m and 200m to East German Renate Stecher, who was later found to have been one of many female athletes who were systemically given performance enhancing drugs.
Renate Stecher completes the gold medal double in beating Australias Raelene Boyle in Munich.
With clear proof available, Boyle has been fighting for the IOC to retrospectively award medals to clean athletes but without luck. Though Jared Tallent was upgraded from silver to gold from the 2012 London Games due to a positive doping result for the winner, the IOC say cases like Boyle’s are too far in the past.
“It would be bloody nice if they did,” Boyle said.
“The documentation is there to say that the East German secret police … they came up with the idea that ‘yeah we will do this because we will be able to beat the world with this’. They did in every sport. They actually stopped great athletes from winning medals that they should have and truly deserved.”
Jumping into trouble, 1991 World Champs
Australia’s 4 x 200m women’s relay team – comprised of Petria Thomas, Elka Thomas, Giaan Rooney and Linda McKenzie – cruised to a victory in the final at the 2001 World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan.
They were so elated Thomas, and then the others, jumped into the pool to celebrate with the anchor swimmer Rooney.
But as they were being interviewed post-race, the quarter were shocked and confused to see they’d been disqualified. It became clear soon after the DQ was for Thomas jumping in the pool while the last team still had one more lousy metre to swim, thus contravening one of the silliest rules in sport.
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