What’s a critical CFL game without a little bit of officiating controversy?
In the late stages of Friday night’s Winnipeg-Calgary game, the Stampeders went for it on third down at the Bomber five yard-line trailing by 11. Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell threw to receiver Eric Rogers and the play was ruled incomplete. But replays showed that Rogers appeared to catch the ball across the goal line, then have it stripped by the Bomber defender as he went to the ground.
Video courtesy TSN
The command centre reviewed the call and upheld the ruling on the field but TSN analyst Glen Suitor disagreed with the call and he was hardly alone.
Dave Dickenson on #Stamps radio: “I hope Toronto has the balls to stand by their decision” #CFL https://t.co/OmIEsW5lRv
— Matthew Scianitti (@TSNScianitti) October 27, 2018
That Rogers ball was stripped after he made the catch.
— Derek Taylor🏈 (@DTonOB) October 27, 2018
I get "have to maintain control". But you can't allow DBs to take it away when the play is essentially finished, can you?
— Derek Taylor🏈 (@DTonOB) October 27, 2018
That's a horrible call because ground didn't make him lose it, it was the defender that ripped it out
— Nik Lewis (🐝, 🐝) 1126 (@nikel18) October 27, 2018
https://twitter.com/DebStrickland65/status/1056025256211562496
I want Calgary to lose but that was an absolute garbage call, even command centre can’t get a call right anymore
— digger (@Digger4444) October 27, 2018
That blown call on the Rogers catch was dumber than putting a football team in Las Vegas
— Las Vegas Posse (@LasVegasPosse) October 27, 2018
DD on Rogers no catch in the end zone: "We'll see if they (command centre) have the balls to stand by the call."
— Sports on QR Calgary (@SportsOn770) October 27, 2018
Here’s the CFL’s official explanation…
Play #149: #Stampeders pass at the goal line ruled incomplete. All potential scoring plays are automatically reviewed. After review, the Replay Official ruled there was no clear and obvious evidence the ruling on the field was incorrect. The call on the field stands. #CFL
— CFL Stats (@CFLStats) October 27, 2018
The ruling essentially ended the Stampeders’ comeback hopes and the Bombers went on to win 29-21, punching their playoff ticket and eliminating the Edmonton Eskimos.
Now, the Eskimos season didn’t come down to one play in a game they weren’t even involved in. And there’s plenty of legitimate questions surrounding Calgary head coach Dave Dickenson’s late-game decision-making after he elected to go for a touchdown on third down instead of kicking the field goal down 11.
But, once again, the competency of the CFL replay system is being questioned. And this time, it just might have helped cost a team a playoff spot.
