Wrong Place, Wrong Time: 10 Officials Who Got in the Way and Ended Up in Pain

Every sports fan has blamed an official for screwing up a game at some point. Sometimes it's justified, and at other times we're just looking for someone to blame.

What follows is 10 examples of the athletes getting their revenge. No one was hurt too badly, but it's nice to see just a little bit of revenge for every bad call your team has ever received.

Rugby League Referee Flattened by Two Players

Rugby is one of the toughest, most physical sports on the planet. It has many similarities with American football—indeed, both sports have rugby union as a common ancestor. The players are all big guys; however, rugby league players play the game without padding or helmets, and they know how to deliver a hit.

Which is fine if you’re a big guy, but if you’re a more slightly built referee, then life can get very unpleasant very quickly. The hapless referee in this clip is taken down when the charging South Sydney player cuts back on him, but the real damage is done by the Brisbane player who clocks him with a knee to the head, turning out his lights.

You’d think that wearing fluorescent pink would make him a little more noticeable!

Referee Knocked out by Boxer

It takes someone especially brave to step between a couple of big, beefy blokes who are throwing their fists around. The level of courage goes up a notch when one or both have received a few whacks around the melon and are fighting on instinct, rather than being fully aware of their surroundings.

Boxing referees are usually aware of the risks, and are pretty careful about how they insert themselves. But, on occasion, things go wrong, and the lights go out.

In the gold medal fight of the North American boxing championships, Cuban boxer Pedro Cardenas takes out referee Bert Lowes when the luckless referee stepped in to call for a break.

Cricket Umpire Billy Bowden Gets Tagged

Cricket is a game that is a mystery to most people outside of Commonwealth (the old British Empire) nations. Suffice to say, it is a bat and ball game between two teams of eleven players.

What is important is that the ball is roughly the same size as a baseball and just as hard, and if it’s hit at you, it really is a good idea to get out of its way. A cricket umpire in Wales was killed when hit by a ball, if you have any doubts about the damage it can do.

Billy Bowden is an international cricket umpire and generally regarded as one of the most annoying individuals in the sport. The cheers from the crowd when Billy was tagged by a Geraint Jones sweep shot tells you everything you need to know about what people think of him.

NFL Back Judge Blocks Saints Receiver

Every sports fan has blamed an official for ruining a game at some point, but rarely is their impact quite as noticeable as this.

There’s really not much to say; it was a guaranteed touchdown stolen by a guy who wasn’t paying attention. The big question, however, is where was the pass interference flag?

AFL Umpire Makes the Highlight Reel

Australian rules footballers aren’t just known for their abilities as kickers like NFL converts Darren Bennett, Saverio Rocca and Ben Graham. One of the great skills of the game is making high catches (called “marking” in AFL).

Part of the skill is using other players as launch platforms to get height in their leap; however, anyone who gets in the way is fair game, as this hapless goal umpire found out.

Swedish Hockey Referee Gets Slammed

It’s not unusual for players to get body checked when playing ice hockey—it’s one of the many draws of the sport—but rarely do we see an official on the receiving end.

It’s not clear if the poor guy on the receiving end of this hit actually deserved to be treated like this or if it was accidental, but if it was deliberate then he must have made some really bad calls. The poor guy is not only knocked off his feet, but knocked upside down so that his skates broke the glass. Ouch!

Linesman Gets Himself Knocked out

One of the great skills of world-renowned soccer players is the ability to control the ball with their head. It is one of the great skills of the game and, when done correctly, players can impart plenty of additional power to the ball.

Those of us who have messed around trying to play soccer will know that if you mess up a header, it can really hurt. A wet heavy soccer ball in the face can ruin your whole day—when the ball is delivered, full power, from ten feet away, you can expect to have a little lie down for a while.

Athletics Official Hit by Javelin

Maybe it’s just me, but you would think that anyone who has the job of measuring the distance that a javelin has been thrown would be aware that being within range of these potential weapons requires a degree of focus.

Obviously this guy didn’t get the message, or maybe he was just some kindly senior citizen who happened to be walking by, perhaps looking for his dog. Either way, it sends shivers up the spine.

Kudos to the official though, who simply pulled out the spear and tried to get on with things before the reality caught up with him and he got an ambulance ride.

NFL Referee Flattened by Vikings' Jeff Dugan

Percy Harvin’s return for a touchdown would probably make the highlight reels by itself, but it makes this list for the brilliant block delivered by Jeff Dugan—on the official.

Maybe Dugan had seen what happened to the Saints player in the earlier clip and was determined not to let an official ruin another TD. As for the guy who put together this clip—perhaps he enjoyed it a little too much!

Djokovic Hit Sexy Ballgirl

She wasn’t really an official, but Novak Djokovic tagging the ballgirl is worthy of inclusion for reasons that are self evident. Perhaps there is a reason to watch tennis after all!

Kerwin Danley Gets Hit by Broken Bat

Baseball umpire Kerwin Danley knows how to take a hit. In 2008, he took a 96mph fast ball to the jaw and got some shuteye for a while.

This whack on the noggin from Hank Blalock’s broken bat also led to Danley getting a ride in an ambulance. It could have been worse; it was the blunt end of the bat that slammed into his mask. Had it been the broken, sharp end, Danley could have been in real trouble.