Allen Iverson, seen arguing a call with referee John Goble while a member of the Denver Nuggets, has been at the centre of a number of allegations regarding officiating integrity. (Gregory Smith/Associated Press)

When Alex Burrows of the Vancouver Canucks took to the microphones on Monday night to suggest he had a history with referee Stephane Auger, it was a relatively rare occurrence —most athletes keep criticism of officials in-house.

Burrows told reporters that during the warm-up for Monday's game, Auger accused him of trying to show him up during a contest with Nashville on Dec. 8. Burrows was boarded in that game by Jerred Smithson, who incurred a five-minute penalty on the play.

However, Smithson didn't get a game misconduct after the NHL reviewed the play, an indication they believed Burrows wasn't as hurt as it first appeared.

In the return game against Nashville on Monday, Burrows drew two penalties from Auger's crew, including two minutes for diving.

"It was personal," Burrows told reporters following the game. "It started in warm-up before the anthem. The ref came over to me and said I made him look bad in Nashville on the Smithson hit."

The Canucks player suggested Auger shouldn't work again this year if he's holding a grudge, comments that netted him a $2,500 US fine.

It's one thing to lambaste a ref over a blown call, but to suggest nefarious motives at work or call an official's integrity into question — well, that's when things get unpredictable.

Here are a few examples from the past:

No answer

The NBA hasn't quite been able to shake the tag that the league would prefer to see big market teams contesting big playoff matchups. Even veteran coaches Jeff Van Gundy, George Karl and Dallas Mavericks' owner Mark Cuban have hinted at it.

Perhaps no player has been at the centre of controversy in recent years than Allen Iverson. The so-called Answer has often provoked questions when it comes to officiating.

In early 2003, Iverson incurred a fine for saying that ref Derrick Stafford had a vendetta against the Philadelphia 76ers. Four years later he drew a $25,000 US fine with the Denver Nuggets after a game involving official Steve Javie.

"It's been something personal with me and him since I got in the league," the former all-star said. "This was just the perfect game for him to try and make me look bad."

Comments like that forced some officials to take matters into their own hands, according to Tim Donaghy. The disgraced former referee told 60 Minutes last month that he could accurately predict results and place successful bets on games Iverson was playing based on a particular officiating crew's views about the controversial player.

Donaghy said that officials would freely express their opinions about players before games and while travelling together. Donaghy added that in an early 2007 game in which he was part of the crew, Iverson was fouled several more times than what was actually called.

The NBA responded by staying on the same message they issued when Donaghy,42, was charged — and ultimately convicted — of committing wire fraud: He was a rogue ref, and not symptomatic of a wider problem.

Ovrebo's no-no

Chelsea star Didier Drogba was slapped with a four-game suspension by European soccer officials after nearly coming to blows with Norwegian referee Tom Henning Ovrebo during last a Champions League match in April 2009.

The Ivorian striker was positively incensed after the final whistle for what he felt were several contentious calls made by Ovrebo as Chelsea bowed out in the semifinals to FC Barcelona.

After nearly coming to blows with the Norwegian ref, Drogba walked off the field while shouting "F-ing disgrace " into a TV camera. One of his teammates declared the official a "thief" and several from the club said that Ovrebo was part of plan by UEFA to prevent English teams from reaching the Champions League final.

UEFA general secretary Derek Taylor dismissed any conspiracy talk.

"If anything it's a media conspiracy against UEFA," said Taylor, the former chief executive of the Scottish Football Association. "It does make me angry. It really annoys me because it's a load of rubbish."

Weighty matter

New Jersey coach Jim Schoenfield was irate at a series of penalty calls against his Devils team made by referee Don Koharski in the Game 3 of the 1988 Eastern Conference final.

He confronted Koharski in the tunnel after the game, making disparaging comments about the ref's weight.

Schoenfield was forced to sit out Game 5 of the series as punishment but not before the NHL officials sat out the fourth game to protest Koharski's treatment and what they perceived as an unsatisfactory response from the league.

Amateur officials worked Game 4. When New Jersey won, it put Boston in a snit, but the Bruins ultimately prevailed in the series.

Different Storey

If Red Storey spent anytime watching that controversy, he probably wished that kind of solidarity had existed nearly 30 years earlier.

In 1959, Chicago Blackhawks fans hurled debris on the ice, delaying a game for nearly 20 minutes to voice their displeasure with what they believed were two Montreal tripping penalties that Storey missed. The Canadiens went on to win the game 5-4.

Worse yet, league president Clarence Campbell told a reporter that the veteran official plain "froze."

"I've taken all I can," Storey said while announcing his resignation after nearly a decade as a league official.

He said Campbell had told him he thought his comments the reporter were off the record.

"What Campbell said was like shooting a guy, then saying I'm sorry," said Storey, who never worked another game.

Spit then shine

Roberto Alomar's spitting incident with umpire John Hirschbeck at Rogers Centre in Toronto in 1996 has been revisited plenty over the past week in light of the former player just missing the cut in his first year of Hall of Fame eligibility. Like Burrows, Alomar initially said the blow-up had been brewing up over time.

Playing for the Baltimore Orioles at the time, Alomar said that Hirschbeck had directed an ethnic slur at him in the past and that the umpire had been increasingly bitter and hard to deal with since his child had been diagnosed with a rare disease.

Hirschbeck was livid, saying the comments about his child were below the belt and even more hurtful than Alomar's actions during the game. Hirschbeck tried to confront the player later on but was separated by members of the Orioles.

Alomar would be suspended for five games after the incident.

The pair later buried the hatchet. Alomar helped raised money for a charity Hirschbeck was involved in, and the former ump said last week if he had a vote, the former second baseman would be in the Hall.

Maybe there's hope for Burrows and Auger yet.

Feel free to share your examples in the comments section, as a fan or a player, where you felt an official wasn't on the up-and-up.