The year 2023 saw a flurry of sporting controversies that captivated everybody’s attention. From the Jantar Mantar protest against sexual harassment allegations against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh to Novak Djokovic’s successful yet contentious Grand Slam victories. Wushu athletes were barred from competing in the Asian Games due to Indo-China tensions, Everton’s extraordinary 10-point deduction sparked Premier League debate, and the FIFA Women’s World Cup celebrations were marred by an iconic kiss issue. 2023 was a rollercoaster year of successes and controversies alike.
WFI Row: From Jantar Mantar Hartal to Sakshi Malik’s Retirement
The year 2023 will be forever remembered as the year that saw the nation’s top wrestlers fight in protest of former WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, accused of sexual harassment against women’s wrestlers.
The movement that started off with a sit-in protest spearheaded by Olympic and Commonwealth Games medallists such as Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik caused an uproar in the nation which would go on to dominate the headlines throughout the year.
The wrestlers called for the formation of an independent commission to run the inquiry into the complaint and the Jantar Mantar protest was called off after assurances from the Union Sports Minister of the nation, Anurag Thakur, as an oversight committee headed by legendary boxer MC Mary Kom was put into effect to run the WFI.
In April, the wrestlers reignited the protest as police failed to register a complaint against Brij Bhushan and approached the Supreme Court for an FIR to be filed against the Gonda native.
Police file an FIR after SC’s interference while the ground-level hartal on the streets continued.
During May, a scuffle broke out between the protestors and police with the grapplers claiming that law enforcement officials manhandled the protestors and misbehaved with some women wrestlers.
Wrestlers who had filed the complaint against the former chief recorded their statements on the 5th of March with the Delhi police, followed by Brij Bhushan’s statements on the 10th of the same month.
On the 29th of May, Punia, Malik and Phogat were booked for obstruction of public servants in discharge of duty as they tried to march to the new Parliamentary house on the day of the inauguration before the wrestlers decided to immerse their medals in the river in Haridwar in protest of the injustice.
Anurag Thakur guarantees the wrestlers that the investigation against Brij Bhushan will be concluded a WFI election to decide a new federation president would follow, but a huge bombshell breaks as the father of one of the women wrestlers who had complained accepted intentionally levelling false accusations to exact revenge.
Amid the storm of pubic outpour and the overall feeling of an ongoing blame game, the WFI elections were postponed and rescheduled multiple times as the outrageous scenario unfolded.
The year was the year of the Asian Games, and amid the turmoil, six experienced wrestlers including Punia and Phogat were given direct entry into the games, which created a rift in the wrestling community with several young wrestlers and their parents calling for the exempt to be scrapped.
In the background, states such as Assam, Punjab and Haryana stayed the WFI election before United World Wrestling, the sport’s ruling body, suspended the WFI for not conducting the election on time.
The was ultimately rescheduled to take place on the 21st of December and was a race between former Commonwealth Games gold medalist Anita Sheoran and Brij Bhushan-loyalist Sanjay Singh, with the disgruntled wrestlers throwing their weight behind the former.
But, to the dismay of the wrestlers, Sanjay Singh won by a landslide setting in motion a series of events that scarred fans of the sport in the nation as Sakshi Malik announced her retirement in a tearful interview after the election of the Brij Bhushan-loyalist, while Punia decided to return his Padma Shri.
The tale took a further turn as the Sports Ministry suspended the newly formed WFI body citing a lack of transparency as the wrestling Federation declared that the U15 and U20 nationals would be held in Gonda, the stronghold of Brij Bhushan.
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Kosovo is at the heart of Serbia’: Novak Djokovic’s controversial message in Paris
The year 2023 proved to be special for tennis icon Novak Djokovic as he triumphed at three of the four Grand Slam events en route to claiming the year-end No. 1 spot in the rankings.
The Serb went past long-time rival Rafael Nadal’s grand slam tally of 22 titles with his triumphs as he took his own count to 24 with victories at the Australian Open, French Open and the US Open.
The year was off to a spectacular start for the 36-year-old star as he came back to Australia, following his ejection from the first grand slam of the calendar year last season due to his anti-vaccination stance. The Serbian was sent back from Australia and was barred from the chance to defend his title.
However, with the vaccination rules scrapped this time around, the Serbian went on to dominate the tournament down under and ended up clinching a record-extending 10th AO title.
Djokovic then went on to register a win in France with FIFA World Cup-winning footballers, such as Olivier Giroud and the French team in attendance. Djokovic’stitle in Paris wasn’t devoid of controversy though as he got into hot waters for signing a camera with the words ‘Kosovo is at the heart of Serbia’ amid raising tension in the Balkans region pertaining to the ever-touchy subject of Kosova’s position and anonymity in the eyes of the Serbs.
Serbians, who make up a huge chunk of the population in the north of Kosovo, have never accepted Kosovo’s declaration of independence from Serbia, and still see Belgrade as their capital.
The comments landed him in a whirlwind of reviews and comments, but Djokovic did not let any of the critics faze him as he went on to claim the clay-court tournament for the third time in his career.
Wushu athletes denied Asian glory due to ‘stapled visa’ as Indo-China strained relations deepen
The Asian Games dreams and aspirations of the Wushu athlete trio of Mepung Lamgu, Nyeman Wangsu and Onilu Tega, who all hail from Arunachal Pradesh, were handed a hit as the Indians were stopped from travelling to China following a visa controversy.
China considers the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh as a part of Tibet, issued stapled visas instead of stamped ones for the athletes, in what was seen as China’s way of questioning India’s sovereignty over Arunachal Pradesh.
This meant that the athletes could not travel to Hangzhou for the games as India does not accept stapled visas as valid.
India and China have been uneasy neighbours ever since the war back in the year 1962 over disputed territory issues along the Himalayan frontier and things escalated recently as 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers were killed in and around the region in relation to the same.
Things heated up further as China published its latest official map claiming parts of northeast India as Chinese territory.
Despite the trio missing out on the continental games, AP Chief Minister Pema Kandhu said that the three athletes and their coach would be considered part of the national contingent for the event and would be granted all incentives and benefits, while Union Minister Kiren Rijiju hit home with a statement that read, “Arunachal Pradesh is not a disputed territory but an inalienable part of India. The entire people of Arunachal Pradesh resolutely oppose any illegal claim of China on its land and people.”
Everton Point Deduction: Is it a case of the rich getting by just fine as the others suffer?
Premier League club Everton was slapped with a harsh 10-point deduction from their league tally in the 2023-24 season as a result of financial irregularities in a landmark move that frustrated the Merseyside club.
The harsh punishment was imposed on the historic club after an independent panel found the Toffees in violation of the Profit and Sustainability Rules for having lost $233 million over three years, which is beyond the permissible limit in the said time frame.
Everton plummeted into the relegation zone after they were stripped of 10 hard-earned points in what is criticised by fans and followers of the club and sport respectively as exceedingly harsh.
However, the experienced manager of Sean Dyche has led a resurgence in the fortunes of the side ever since the ruling took a toll on the team’s points as he strung a couple of victories together to get the club out of the drop zone.
The Liverpudlian club stand above the fall zone currently with 8 wins, 2 draws and 8 losses from their 18 outings this season.
FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 and the infamous Hermoso-Rubiales Kiss
The Spanish women’s team scripted history with their 1-0 win over the English women in the final of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 in Australia to lift their maiden WC title thanks to a lone strike from Olga Cramona in the summit clash.
But, what was supposed to be a dream day for the Spanish players turned into a hotbed for controversy as former RFEF president Luis Rubiales pulled player Jenni Hermoso in for an unsolicited kiss on the lips during the presentation ceremony.
The incident created an outpouring of support for Hermoso, who said that the gesture made her feel uncomfortable, while simultaneously calling for concrete action to be taken to remove Rubiales from his position at the top of the federation.
The fact that the incident followed years of turmoil in the women’s football landscape in Spain that had forced a couple of players to abstain from pulling on the national shirt until solid changes were made at the administrative end, did not help the case of the 46-year-old, who apologized for his action after having initially called the critics idiots.
He defended his position stating that it was a moment of emotion and said that he wouldn’t step down from his role at the helm of the RFEF despite loud calls for the same.
Protests on the streets of Spain continued while FIFA suspended RFEF for external interference as the issue turned political.
Rubiales found support from his mother, who locked herself up in the neighbouring church, while the cries for action in Spain kept getting louder and louder as the nation had to react. While on the other end of the spectrum, the entire WC winning unit and some other players went on strike as they stated that they would not be part of the team until Rubiales was removed from the role.
Eventually, the federation of the nation with a proud sporting history and tradition decided it had no other choice but to sack Rubalies and the title-winning coach and Rubiales-loyalist Jorge Vilda, who had led the team to the maiden WC trophy in an attempt to remedy the issues plaguing the country’s women’s football.
European Super League
The formation of the European Super League, a concept which has been in the works in the background for a while now, was handed clearance from the European Court of Justice on the 21st of December as judges noted that UEFA, the body responsible for football activities in Europe, blocking the inception of new competition like the super league was in violation of the laws of the European Union.
The calls for the formation of an exclusive league comprising the cream de la creme of teams from across Europe in a closed/semi-closed league has been touted as the way forward for the future of the sport by Real Madrid club president and fervent advocate of the new tournament, Florentino Perez.
Perez has voiced his intention to create a challenging league with more clashes between Europe’s top sides for years now, in a rather closed circuit with a closed style sans the traditional promotion-relegation at the end of the seasons.
Following what is assumed to be a series of meetings between sides from the top five leagues in Europe, the initiative gathered some momentum as certain clubs pushed for the creation of the same on the back of a COVID-hit year, as the football clubs took an economic hit.
However, the move never came to pass as the football fanbase expressed its collective dissent towards the creation of a league that would quite possibly mean the end of traditional football across countries as we know it, the idea of a Super League collapsed in a matter of days as multiple clubs pulled out of the initiative.
However given the volatility of the situation and the nature of unpredictability, this space remains as one to be on the lookout for.
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