Miss Universe Fans Think Mexico Only Won Because Of 'Dummy' Damage Control

Miss Mexico's sparkly Miss Universe win is coming with some serious side eye ... 'cause after her own scandal shook the pageant, people are claiming the crown was handed to her as damage control, not as the result of a hard-earned victory.

Weeks after pageant exec Nawat Itsaragrisil called her a "dummy" -- triggering a full-on contestant walkout in her defense -- Fátima Bosch Fernández’s win at the pageant in Thailand Friday looked like the ultimate "against all odds" comeback. She’s drop-dead gorgeous, composed, intelligent, it all lined up perfectly -- but hold up a sec ...

Fans watching at home were shocked that Miss Côte d’Ivoire -- who only landed 4th runner-up -- didn’t take the whole thing ... pointing out she delivered the winning answer during the top 5 Q&A.

Others were just as fired up, insisting the crown should’ve gone to fan faves like Miss Philippines or Miss Thailand instead ... in fact, the latter had some serious backup with judge Natalie Glebova -- AKA Miss Universe 2005 -- saying she's the real winner in her eyes.

Natalie even jumped on IG to call out the sketchy results ... pointing out when she competed, and every year afterward, an auditor would walk onstage with sealed, verified results from an accounting firm ... something that did NOT happen this time. Hmmm ...