A "bad call" is an informal term used in sports to describe a referee decision, or "call", that is incorrect or perceived to be incorrect. Bad calls have been associated with all sports involving referees or judges.[1][2]

A hockey referee
A soccer/football referee displaying a yellow card against a player

A bad call is made by a game referee when:

  1. An incorrect application of a game rule is made.
  2. An incorrect interpretation of a specific game event is made.
  3. An infraction of a game rule is unseen or ignored and the specific rule violation is left unaddressed.

Public outcry following a highly visible and questionable call might lead to a public clarification of existing rules or in rare instances, an actual change in rules.

Author Andrew Caruso notes that "Bad calls or bad breaks are part of every sport. That's life."[3]

"Bad call" is used outside of sports colloquially to quickly label a bad decision: "His promotion was a bad call.", "He took her to dinner with his mom; bad call."

Video review practices

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Because of the accusations of bad calls involving plays in the National Football League, starting in 1986, the league began adopting rules to allow the use of instant replay in settling disputed calls by the on field officials.[4] Other leagues (including Major League Baseball, FIFA, ULEB, and the NBA) have come up with differing systems to utilize video replay or to limit its usage.

The NFL did not innovate the process, rather they followed the lead of their competitor at the time - the USFL - which tried to differentiate itself from its more established rival by several rule differences, including the two-point conversion, a faster moving clock based on NCAA rules, and the use of replay when challenged by one of the teams.[5]

Compensation practices

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Sports fans have frequently commented on what they perceive as "make-up" calls, in which referees compensate for a questionable call by penalizing the other team during the course of the game.[6] One analysis focused on strikes and balls in baseball, finding that the zones shifted soon after what the authors refer to as errant calls.[6]

Notable examples

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See also

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Further reading

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  • Bad Call: Technology's Attack on Referees and Umpires and How to Fix It. Harry Collins, Robert Evans, Christopher Higgins. MIT Press, 2016. ISBN 978-0-262-33775-5. [1]

References

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  1. ^ a b Riper, Tom Van (26 September 2012). "You Cannot be serious, The Worst Calls In Sports History". Forbes. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
  2. ^ "Famous blown umpire calls in baseball's postseason". Sporting News. 26 October 2013. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
  3. ^ Andrew Caruso (1 April 2005). Sports Psychology Basics. Reedswain Inc. p. 41. ISBN 978-1-59164-083-7.
  4. ^ "March 11, 1986: NFL Adopts Instant Replay". WIRED. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  5. ^ "USFL Gives Instant Replays a Try". Los Angeles Times. 22 February 1985. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  6. ^ a b Tobias J. Moskowitz; L. Jon Wertheim (January 2012). Scorecasting: The Hidden Influences Behind How Sports Are Played and Games Are Won. Crown Publishing Group. pp. 22–24. ISBN 978-0-307-59180-7.
  7. ^ AMS' last September race cause for late celebration at NASCAR.com
  8. ^ a b c d "ESPN.com - Page2 - The List: Worst calls
    in sports history"
    . go.com. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  9. ^ Dave Kindred. "Remembering the night the U.S. was robbed in Munich". SportsonEarth.com. Archived from the original on 2 March 2015. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  10. ^ "Wilbur Snapp, 83, Organist Ejected by Ump". The New York Times. 2003-09-10. Retrieved 2008-11-14.
  11. ^ "Wilbur Snapp, 83; Only Baseball Organist Ousted by an Umpire". Los Angeles Times. 2003-09-10. Retrieved 2008-11-14.
  12. ^ Nazareno, Rocky (1991-05-13). "Magsanoc Gins' nemesis as Shell takes 3-1 lead". Manila Standard. Retrieved 2012-02-11.