The ending to a rugby Test doesn't get any more controversial than what was witnessed on Saturday night at the MCG when the British & Irish Lions snatched victory, and the series, from the Wallabies in the final minute of the nail-biting clash.
Reminiscent of the shock end we saw just three years ago when referee Mathieu Raynal penalised Wallabies fly-half Bernard Foley for time wasting in the final minutes of a Bledisloe Cup clash in Melbourne, this time it was referee Andre Piardi who decided to not penalise a controversial Jac Morgan clean-out in the run up to the Lions' match-winning try.
The moment has caused quite the stir around the rugby world, dividing opinions down the middle with pundits from Australia left fuming Morgan wasn't penalised for hitting Wallabies' Carlo Tizzano in the back of the neck while cleaning the flanker out, while in the northern hemisphere the decision has been applauded as they celebrate the first Lions series win since their last tour to Australia in 2013.
It left the two coaches divided as well, with Lions coach Andy Farrell saying, "I thought it was a brilliant clear-out, didn't you?" after the match, while Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt took a much different opinion: "Our perspective is we felt it was a decision that doesn't really live up to the big player safety push that they are talking about. You cannot hit someone above the levels of the shoulders and there's no bind with the left arm, his hand is on the ground."
The commentary team on Stan sport were also left fuming by the no-call from Piardi, with Morgan Turinui blasting the decision.
"The end is a penalty to the Wallabies - and the referees were too weak to give it.
"You cannot hit a guy in the back of the neck to save the ball, who is legally jackaling. The referees have got it wrong."
Fellow Stan sport commentators, former Wallabies captain Michael Hooper and Lions great Martin Johnson were also split.
"That decision at the end, I didn't think there was enough there for a penalty to change the game," Johnson said.
"I think you have to be very, very sure to change a game on a ref's decision.
"I think if you call that a penalty, you penalise every ruck.
"It's the referee call and he was quite strict at the breakdown and got into the Lions and Wallabies, he looked at it and made the call and I agree."
Hooper's take differed.
"I can see what the referee's saying but there's a penalty there whether it's on head, on neck or going straight off his feet to ground," he said.
"I would say if that was minute one, that's a penalty."
Meanwhile, former international referee Waynes Barnes also weighed in on the controversy, writing in The Telegraph he agreed with the decision stating "I couldn't have agreed more with the two ex-internationals. Rugby is a dynamic game with lots of moving parts and yes, player safety is at the heart of everything the game is currently doing, but these things happen. It's worth re-emphasising that every time there is head contact, it does not mean that there is foul play."
UK rugby colomunist Stephen Jones also weighed in on the moment.
Carlo Tizzano, hit by Jac Morgan at the very end, did himself no favours by a backwards dive and appeal to the ref.
— Stephen Jones (@stephenjones9) July 26, 2025
And former Wales coach Warren Gatland labelled it a "rugby incident" following the match.
While Rugby Australia CEO Phil Waugh backed in Schmidt's comments following the match, calling on World Rugby to explain the decision.
"We talk transparency with fans and fan engagement, ultimately everyone's probably looking for a level of accountability and explanation that needs to come with that. And we look forward to that," Waugh said.
As the washup continues former England internationals Mike Tindall and James Haskell ripped into Tizzano and his "dive" following the contact to his neck.
"Only bit of foul play and nonsense in the incident was the Australian player diving. That should have been red carded, because that is utter crap. There is no physical way to clear out a player that is that low over the ball," Haskel said on the The Good, the Bad & the Rugby podcast.
The debate continues...
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Jones also joined in on calling out Tizzano's move, labelling his reaction as "unforgiveable".
"Tizzano, unforgivably, reached back and dived out of the ruck, and the officials quite correctly concluded that there was no offence. But there was a Lions try. And they had won the series."
Meanwhile, former Wallabies Drew Mitchell, Adam Ashley-Cooper and Matt Giteau couldn't disguise their heartbreak when they discussed the incident on their podcast The Kick Offs and Kick Ons with Giteau questioning whether the same decision would have been earlier on in the contest.
"For me, I thought if it was any other time I the game... watching it and seeing the head contact, if it was any other time I the game I believe it would have been a penalty," Giteau said. "Not that that's where it was won or lost, but that call could have determined whether we go to a decider or whether that happens.
"It's a big call, I'm sure they would have thought about it, they know better than I do. But from the naked eye I believe it would have been a penalty if it was in the first 10 minutes of the game."
With attention now turning to Sydney and the potential for the Lions to sweep the series, there's no doubt this controversial call will go down in history and continue to bitterly divide.