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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.
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A bad call is made by a game referee when:
- An incorrect application of a game rule is made.
- An incorrect interpretation of a specific game event is made.
- 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."
"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
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. 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.
Compensation practices
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. One analysis focused on strikes and balls in baseball, finding that the zones shifted soon after what the authors refer to as errant calls.