The organisers of the Eurovision Song Contest have had to issue a rather lengthy statement in the early hours of Sunday morning, following calls to introduce a jury vote ban after Ukraine won the show.
Ukrainian act Kalush Orchestra pipped the UK's Sam Ryder to first place on Saturday evening, but bosses at the show have admitted that "certain irregular voting patterns" had cropped up in the results of six countries during the voting count.
As reported by the Mirror, votes from Georgia, Azerbaijan, Romania, Poland, Montenegro and San Marino were all replaced by aggregate scores, after unusual patterns were noticed on the night.
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Acknowledging the apparent controversary, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) issued a full statement.
The statement read: "In the analysis of jury voting by the European Broadcasting Union’s (EBU) pan-European voting partner after the Second Dress Rehearsal of the Second Semi-Final of the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest, certain irregular voting patterns were identified in the results of six countries.
"In order to comply with the Contest’s Voting Instructions, the EBU worked with its voting partner to calculate a substitute aggregated result for each country concerned for both the Second-Semi Final and the Grand Final (calculated based on the results of other countries with similar voting records).
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"This process was acknowledged by the Independent Voting Monitor."
Bosses added: "The EBU takes any suspected attempts to manipulate the voting at the Eurovision Song Contest extremely seriously and has the right to remove such votes in accordance with the Official Voting Instructions, irrespective of whether or not such votes are likely to influence the results and/or outcome of the voting."
Fans watching at home took to social media to address the irregularities, with one Twitter user writing: "SCRAP THE “PROFESSIONAL” JURIES!"
This drama follows the UK's stunning run to the top two of the competition, with contestant Sam Ryder winning the evening's Jury Vote with 283 points - the highest return since 2017.
The TikTok superstar came runner up to Ukraine with his viral tune Space Man, the first time in 20 years that the UK ended the night in the top spot.
Sam was astonished after learning the news, saying: "There is so much gratitude, what an experience."
The Essex singer even won plaudits from the Prime Minister himself, as Boris Johnson tweeted his congratulations to Sam on Sunday.
Boris wrote: "Congratulations to Ukraine for winning the @Eurovision Song Contest 2022.
"It is a clear reflection of not just your talent, but of the unwavering support for your fight for freedom.
"Incredibly proud of @SamRyderMusic and how he brilliantly represented the UK tonight."
The Eurovision Song Contest can be re-watched on their website here.
