The biggest sport stories of 2022. Photos / Photosport
OPINION:
Chris Rattue looks at the biggest sport stories of 2022.
The Serbian’s scrap with Australian authorities, because he was unvaccinated against Covid, got the year off to a volatile start with heated debate and reaction around the world.
The nine-time Australian Open champion, who said he believed he had a clearance to visit, was chucked out of the country before he could try to make it four titles in a row.
Djokovic was also banned from Australia for three years, although this was later overturned.
The ruckus included street protests, volleys between the Serbian and Australian governments, and claims from the player’s family that he was being held prisoner.
The world was gripped by this melodrama, before moving on to the next one.
The Fifa tournament in Qatar was a hornet’s nest of scandal intermingled with fantastic football and a volatile feel linked to some of the world’s hotspots.
The stars included the hordes that followed their teams to Qatar, from the choreographed Senegalese, to the power of Argentinian crowds, the passionate Saudi Arabians, to Japanese fans who meticulously cleaned the stadiums.
The planet’s troubles were never far away from this tournament.
Fans from some countries paraded signs in support of Palestine. The Moroccan team celebrated its knockout stage win over Spain by unfurling a Palestine flag.
The Iran players were caught between a rock and a hard place, risking frightening recriminations from their country’s regime for not singing the anthem, while also being accused of not doing enough to support freedom protests.
The stench of Fifa corruption along with the knowledge that thousands of migrant workers died and were mistreated during the construction stage of the tournament should never be forgotten.
It has been an unforgettable tournament, for so many reasons.
Two of the greatest stars in sports history — Serena Williams and Roger Federer — quit tennis, or at least one did.
Williams preferred to say she was evolving.
“I have never liked the word retirement — it doesn’t feel like a modern word to me,” she said.
Federer bowed out by playing a doubles game with fellow legend Rafael Nadal in the Laver Cup.
“It’s been a wonderful day … I’m not sad, I’m happy. It feels like a celebration. It’s exactly what I had hoped for.”
Williams and Federer are the tennis GOATs to many minds, although neither has won the most Grand Slam titles.
They lasted past the age of 40, although the best years were well behind them by then.
The game hasn’t been the same without them at their peak.
American basketball great Brittney Griner is still caught in a nightmare, after being nabbed with some hashish oil while entering Russia.
There are a number of threads to this story, including the relatively low pay for WNBA players who supplement their earnings in leagues around the world.
The 2.06m Griner became collateral damage in a world of confused and heightened international tensions, being hit with a maliciously long jail sentence and sent to a harsh penal colony.
The horrors being visited on Ukraine by the Russian madman Vladimir Putin are there for all to see.
But watching two famous heavyweight boxing world champions help lead the resistance and fightback, with scenes of rubble and despair behind them, reinforced how normal life has been snatched away from the Ukrainian people in such a shocking way.
“If I tried to explain to you all the challenges that I have, we need weeks,” Vitali — the Kyiv Mayor — said as the dreadful war dragged on. “It’s terror.”
Ukrainian tennis player Marta Kostuyk opted for a racket tap rather than shake hands with Victoria Azarenka, of Belarus, at the US Open.
Kostuyuk, who texted Azarenka beforehand, is very critical of players from the region who have not been vocal enough in opposing Putin’s invasion of her country — “the murders, the rapes, the genocide that is happening”.
Warne’s premature death in March at the age of 52, from a heart attack, was felt by so many.
The leg-spin genius was much more than arguably the greatest bowler in cricket history. He played a big part in inspiring a cricket revolution, based on skill and attack.
Warnie was a character, a larrikin at times, loved around the world, BUT…
…any reflection on his life can’t exclude the fact he was an unapologetic sex pest.
Women’s sport made more equal opportunity strides throughout the year, including matching pay deals with men in American soccer, plus New Zealand and Indian cricket.
“I don’t think you can overstate how huge this is, not just for us, but hopefully setting a new tone going forward,” said US football star and activist Megan Rapinoe. “This is some really cool legacy stuff.”
The Netflix two-part series on the corruption which drives world football’s governing authority did a nice job of tying together the pieces, although it faltered somewhat when getting close to digging up some real dirt.
Among its successes, Fifa Uncovered showed up ousted boss Sepp Blatter as a thoroughly unlikeable, disingenuous egomaniac.
This wasn’t difficult — all the documentary makers had to do was turn the camera and microphone on and let Blatter speak.
Phil Mickelson, one of the finest golfers in history, opted out of the Masters as the game underwent a squillion-dollar upheaval with some very public spats.
The Saudi-backed LIV breakaway tour nabbed stars including Dustin Johnson and fast-rising Aussie Cameron Smith.
Mickelson scored US$300m just for signing up, and Tiger Woods turned down something way above that.
Ireland’s world No 1 Rory McIlroy was the most vocal of LIV opponents in support of the traditional tour.
Fans will hope the game can put itself back together somehow.
With no lead-up hints, Aussie Barty quit tennis while ranked at No 1 and aged just 25.
Typical of the modern media age, she revealed her decision in an interview with her former doubles partner Casey Dellacqua.
Winning Wimbledon in 2021 fulfilled Barty’s major tennis dream, and it seems her desire to continue began to wane after that triumph.
Barty was a comparatively anonymous world No 1 compared with superstars past, but her premature retirement was still a shock.
The issue that won’t go away.
New Zealand rugby star Portia Woodman was knocked out of the World Cup final against England, and can’t remember the game.
But at least protocols were followed.
In the NFL there was an outcry involving Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who collapsed after his head slammed into the ground but was cleared for a return to the game.
Unbelievably, he played again four days later and had to be stretchered off after displaying brain damage signs when hurled to the ground.
A neuroscientist Chris Nowinski, a former college player, tweeted: “This is a disaster. Fire the medical staffs and coaches. I predicted this and I hate that I am right. Two concussions in 5 days can kill someone. This can end careers. How are we so stupid in 2022?”
The film King Richard ended up revealing more about lead actor Will Smith than it did its central character, Richard Williams, father of tennis sensations Serena and Venus.
In the weirdest sequel to a sports movie, Smith left his seat at the Oscars to whack presenter Chris Rock on stage, helping people forget that Smith was actually about to receive a best actor gong for the portrayal.
Despite a strong entry from Will Smith, Tyson Fury’s thunderous uppercut that ended Dillian Whyte’s night at Wembley in April stood out.
The American started the year primed to dominate the women’s LPGA but was stopped in her tracks when diagnosed with a blood clot in her left arm which required surgery in April.
Korda was upset that her privacy was violated by reports the problem was far more serious than she portrayed.
Kiwi Lydia Ko overhauled Korda to reclaim the top ranking for the first time in over five years.
A remarkable three tries in nine minutes against the All Blacks led to an unlikely draw at Twickenham.
But England have very high standards these days and coach Eddie Jones still got the boot at the end of the year.
Spectators were injured and left splattered by blood when British cyclist Matt Walls crashed over the barrier in a horror incident at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
The incredible photographs of Walls upright on bike, heading over the barrier as spectators braced for any impact, made an indelible impression.
A BBC documentary revealed the Olympic running superstar was trafficked to the UK at the age of nine and forced to look after another’s family’s children.
Farah, winner of four Olympic long distance golds, previously claimed he came to Britain with his parents as a refugee.
“For years I just kept blocking it out but you can only block it out for so long,” he said.
“Often I would just lock myself in the bathroom and cry.”
Mo Farah is not his real name, and his parents never came to Britain.
Welcome to Wrexham (Disney+) was sport’s TV hit of the year.
The plot: Welsh football club Wrexham is bought by Hollywood characters Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, who throw their money and wit behind the Welsh club’s efforts to rise out of the National League, the fifth tier of British football.
It’s a terrific fly-on-the-wall series, although — of course — heavily edited.
Striker Mullin is Wrexham’s star recruit. There is one memorable scene where other players who are crammed into a flat mull over “Money” Mullin’s exalted positon.
And the fans include a local band whose song about the takeover has finally seen them produce a tune, as they note, that even other people like to sing.
Wonderful stuff.
Speaking of strikers, EPL heavyweights Manchester City got themselves a steal, nabbing the Norwegian for a mere $100m. It’s even a steal when you include the add-on costs, totalling a mere $70m.
The young giant is scoring goals at a rate unimaginable in Britain’s elite league for nearly a century. Stay tuned, for a long time.
It was a horrible year for the national rugby side, a team which reigned supreme not so long ago.
There were three unwanted firsts on home soil: a series loss to Ireland, a test defeat against Argentina and three losses in a row.
The late Diego Maradona’s most famous double-act paid astonishing dividends for a couple of participants from the match in question 36 years ago.
The Argentinian football genius scored the famous “Hand of God” goal and another regarded as the finest individual effort in World Cup history against England at the 1986 Mexico tournament.
The shirt he wore in that game, owned by England midfielder Steve Hodge, fetched $15m at auction. The ball, belonging to the Tunisian referee, scored nearly $4m.
Nothing did more for women’s sport than the European football championship, which created phenomenal interest. A crowd of 87,000 watched England beat Germany, in extra time, at the Wembley final.
There was even an iconic tournament moment, the back-heeled goal by England’s Alessia Russo against Sweden in their semifinal.
“Lessi not Messi,” former England striker Ian Wright quipped on the BBC coverage.
“Today I feel Qatari. Today I feel Arabic. Today I feel African. Today I feel gay. Today I feel disabled. Today I feel like a migrant worker … As a child I was bullied because I had red hair and freckles…”
Fifa president Gianni Infantino takes bizarre to new levels — and invites satire — as he attacks critics on the eve of the World Cup in Qatar.
Former NFL running back Herschel Walker — an anti-abortion US Republican Senate candidate — was revealed to have encouraged exes to have abortions.
“I’ve already told people this is a lie … and I also want to let you know that I didn’t kill JFK either,” he said, mounting an unconvincing defence.
Lionel Messi was expected to lead in-form Argentina to an impressive start in the Qatar World Cup, and nailed an early penalty against Saudi Arabia. But the unfancied Saudis struck back with two goals, including a superb winner from Salem al-Dawsari, to record what is regarded by many as the biggest shock in World Cup history.
The former Pakistan Prime Minister, aged 70, survived what was described as an assassination attempt, during a protest rally.
Khan is — to most judges — the second-greatest cricket all-rounder in history, behind Sir Garry Sobers, and he was just as famous for his good looks.
He seemed like a man who had it all until he got into politics.
The NFL’s greatest quarterback did a U-turn on retirement but the 45-year-old hit a rocky patch with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and his famous marriage to model Gisele Bundchen came to an amicable end. In typical Brady style, the split was highly organised.
In more positive news, Brady also signed a 10-year, $600m broadcasting deal with Fox, to be taken up once he retires.
England’s Charlie Dean hurled her bat and broke into tears after Indian bowler Deepti Sharma ran her out at the non-striker’s end at Lords.
The legal-yet-frowned-upon cricket ploy, named after the Indian player who first used it, completed a clean sweep by the Indian women in the ODI series and grabbed world headlines.
The giant Stanley Cup may be the most famous trophy in sport, with the names of victorious officials and players’ — along with a few errors — etched on the side.
Imagine the surprise for a Denver couple, when they saw a truck deliver the unmistakable ice hockey prize to their home.
“Got to see it and touch it in my driveway,” commented Kit Karbler.
Neighbour and Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog was the intended recipient.
Mike Thorpe argues the numbers suggest that they are.