The Biggest Sports Controversies in 2024 – You’ll Be Shocked By Number 3

There is no arguing that 2024 was an epic year for sports. Sports fans worldwide had the chance to watch the Olympic Games, EURO 2024, and all sorts of other top-tier sports competitions. There were many epic moments, but it’s no surprise that we had our fair share of controversies.

Speaking of controversies, Nostrabet.com decided to show you some of the year’s most important and interesting moments. “Collecting all of the data was not easy because we had to go through a lot. There were tons of moments that deserved to be here, but we have decided to focus on the most intriguing ones”, said Stiliyan from NB.

Although you may have heard about most stories, there will be things you had no idea about. With that said, it’s time to reveal all of the biggest sports controversies in 2024.

#1 Lewis Hamilton’s Move from Mercedes to Ferrari

Early 2024 was not that controversial for sports, but there was one situation that definitely shocked F1 fans.

• When talking about the biggest sports controversies in 2024, Lewis Hamilton’s move from Mercedes to Ferrari is definitely one of them. Despite his age (38 years old), Hamilton decided to leave the team where he won almost all of his trophies.
• Needless to say, this decision was very controversial, and a lot of F1 fans who like Mercedes were disappointed. With that said, Ferrari’s fans were extremely happy and compared the situation to the times when Schumacher was a part of the team. After all, he was the only driver to have seven F1 titles.

However, Hamilton finished the 2024 F1 season as part of the Mercedes team, but in 2025, he will make his debut for Ferrari.

#2 The Olympic Games Opening Ceremony

The 2024 Olympic Games were one of the highlights of 2024 in terms of sports because there were loads of amazing moments. Unfortunately, most people will remember the games in Paris for their controversial opening ceremony.

• We won’t go into much detail, but this deserves to be one of the biggest sports controversies in 2024. Loads of religious groups and regular people were disappointed with the way the games began. According to them, the portrait of “The Last Supper” was scandalous because it included elements that were provocative.
• Following the “incident”, many people tried defending the organizers, whereas others agreed with the accusations. Regardless of who’s right or wrong, one thing is certain, this opening ceremony will go down in history.
• The sad part is that a lot of people will only associate the Paris 2024 Olympic Games with it, not with all of the epic moments that took place during the event.

#3 LeBron James & The Diddy Scandal

Although this controversy is not really related to sports, it is so big that we just had to include it on the list. LeBron James is one of the world’s biggest superstars and is often considered one of the greatest basketball players ever. Unfortunately, his name was dragged into the “Diddy Scandal”, one of the most significant controversies in the last few years.

• Without going into much detail, P.Diddy is currently under investigation for his parties where a lot of illegal things took place.
• Many other famous people were involved, and it seems like LeBron James is one of them. It became clear that the NBA star has something to do with the situation following a leaked video where he says that there’s no party like the one from Diddy.

Considering the size of this case, we wouldn’t be surprised if many other famous athletes also participated in Diddy’s parties. We will keep an eye on LeBron because it will be interesting to see what happens in the future.

#4 Noah Lyles’s Covid Case

While on the topic of the biggest sports controversies in 2024, we definitely need to talk about Noah Lyles.

• The American sprinter won the Gold Medal in the 100m run, and he tried to do the same in the 200m final. Little did we know, he was battling with COVID-19 24 hours prior to the race but still decided to take part in it.
• As you can imagine, a lot of people criticized the sprinter for taking part in the race and potentially infecting his colleagues. Regardless of the situation, Lyles decided to compete in the race and ended up winning the bronze medal. The media learned about his situation shortly after the end of the race.

#5 Max Verstappen’s fine by FIA

Formula 1 is usually not associated with controversies (at least not as much as other sports). However, 2024 seems like a turbulent year for F1 because there’s another controversy that needs to be on this list.

• Max Verstappen has been one of the most popular and best F1 pilots in the last couple of years. Like his father, however, he also often involves himself in different controversies, one of which took place this year. Verstappen is dominating on the track, but the FIA fined him $200,000 following a press conference in Singapore. The fine was imposed because Verstappen said nasty words.
• Alongside the fine, the pilot must also do some “public work” in Rwanda.

Needless to say, the Dutch superstar was not happy with the decision. He even threatened to retire early because of it.

#6 The massive brawl between Serbian and English football fans at EURO 2024

EURO 2024 was the most important football competition this year, and it was a blast to watch. Unfortunately, this tournament also had its fair share of controversies, including the massive brawl.

• The fans of England and Serbia decided to see who was stronger and caused chaos in the streets of Gelsenkirchen, Germany. The action took place before the clash of the two nations in Group C.
• Even though the police in Germany were conducting an investigation, no one could tell who started it. All we know is that it was big because more than 150 people were involved.

It’s sad when such events occur because they overshadow the game itself. The bad news is that these kinds of brawls happen very often, especially among fans from some parts of the world.

#7 Rodri’s 2024 Ballon d’Or Victory

Football fans are aware that the Ballon d’Or is the most important and prestigious individual achievement a player can get. People like Messi and Ronaldo have won it multiple times, but 2024 was different because neither lifted the trophy. Instead, it went to Rodri, the Spanish player.

• No one questions Rodri’s skills because he was one of the main reasons for Spain’s victory. He also won the Premier League and Champions League with Manchester City, so it’s no surprise that he won the Ballon d’Or.
• Despite that, many believe Vinicius Junior should have won the trophy because of his fantastic season with Real Madrid.

The reason why this is one of the biggest sports controversies in 2024 is because of Real Madrid’s decision. The squad decided to boycott the event and did not attend it.

#8 The 2024 Olympic Games boxing transgender controvercy

Another big sports controversy in 2024 is once again related to the Olympic Games in Paris. This time, we must talk about Imane Khelif and women’s boxing. 

• According to a lot of people online, Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting were both transgender and yet they took part in women’s boxing. 
• Prior to the tournament, both were disqualified from the 2023 World Championship due to their high testosterone levels. However, they were able to participate in the event.

Once it became clear that these two athletes would play, IBA’s president suggested that they may have XY chromosomes. Despite the controversy, the two continued to play and eventually won medals.

#9 Raygun’s performance

Another sports controversy in 2024 that you may have heard about is related to the break dancing competition. This was definitely not a place where we expected something strange, but the Australian representative Rachael “Raygun” Gunn became an overnight success.

• Following her bizarre performance, she quickly became the talking point of millions of online users. Her dance was very different from what you expect to see in breaking because, according to her, it was inspired by her country’s wildlife.
• Sadly, the judges did not like Raygun’s performance, so she did not receive a single point. Nevertheless, she became a fan favourite, and this is often more important than winning a medal.

#10 The inappropriate behaviour of Christian Horner

The last of the biggest sports controversies in 2024 that we’d like to address is related to Christian Horner.

• Red Bull’s boss was involved in a scandal because, supposedly, he had inappropriate behaviour with a female colleague. The allegations were quickly dismissed following an investigation, but the scandal was big, and it had a negative effect on Red Bull’s team.

Conclusion

Despite some of the controversies in sports in 2024, this was a very successful year. We had tons of events and epic moments, and we can only hope that 2025 will give us even more of that. It will be interesting to see what’s going to happen, so stay tuned for more information.