The biggest scandals in sports history
The top 3 according to 177 votes from people: The Black Sox (1919) · Spain's Paralympic basketball team (2000) · Hansie Cronje (2000). (Updated Jan 18, 2026.)
The Black Sox who threw a World Series, Ben Johnson's positive test in Seoul, the seven Tours Lance Armstrong lost, Calciopoli and the non-disabled players on Spain's Paralympic basketball team in Sydney: the scandals that shook sport. Which was the worst?
Automatically translated (original in Español). See the original
Top 13
-
1
The Black Sox (1919)
Eight White Sox players banned for life for throwing the World Series for money.
-
2
Spain's Paralympic basketball team (2000)
Ten of the twelve champions in Sydney had no intellectual disability.
-
3
Hansie Cronje (2000)
The South African cricket captain, banned for life for match-fixing.
-
4
Ben Johnson (1988)
He won the Seoul 100 metres in world-record time and tested positive for stanozolol.
-
5
Lance Armstrong (2012)
Stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and banned for life for doping.
-
6
Calciopoli (2006)
Wiretaps exposed match-fixing in Serie A; Juventus were relegated to Serie B.
-
7
The attack on Nancy Kerrigan (1994)
The skater was assaulted by people close to her rival Tonya Harding.
-
8
Crashgate (2008)
Renault ordered Nelson Piquet Jr. to crash in Singapore to help Alonso.
-
9
Russian state doping (2014)
An organised system to beat drug tests, including at the Sochi Games.
-
10
Bloodgate (2009)
A rugby player faked an injury with a fake blood capsule to force a substitution.
-
11
The Astros sign-stealing scandal (2017)
They used technology to steal opponents' signs in their championship season.
-
12
Pakistan's ball-tampering row (2006)
A Test match abandoned at The Oval over the accusation.
-
13
The "Hand of God" (1986)
Maradona scored with his hand against England at the Mexico World Cup.
How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.
Is something missing?
Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first!