Toronto Argonauts’ head coach Ryan Dinwiddie appears to share the frustration of many fans when it comes to the CFL’s command centre.
Speaking to the media following his team’s 20-19 victory over the Saskatchewan Roughriders, Dinwiddie had to keep himself in check when asked about several key officiating decisions at the end of the first half.
“I’m not even going to get into that. I talked to the guys a few days ago, I don’t know why we have a command centre. I really don’t,” he said, chuckling to relieve the tension. “What is it doing? It’s slowing down games. I just don’t get it. I’m not trying to get fined, I’ll just leave it at that.”
Toronto had two touchdowns overturned by the command centre with less than two minutes remaining in the first half. Running back Ka’Deem Carey was initially ruled to have crossed to plane with 1:16 left before replay showed he was held short, setting up a turnover on downs the following play. Then after getting the ball back, Chad Kelly found Damonte Coxie with a 29-yard pass to the end zone, only for the tying score to be overturned when a camera angle from the opposite sideline showed the ball hit the turf.
Dinwiddie challenged the latter play for defensive pass interference on Saskatchewan defensive back Deontai Williams, who appeared to make early contact with the receiver. However, no penalty was awarded.
The CFL command centre has been the subject of intense debate throughout the first half of the 2024 season. The issue reached a head following a 22-22 tie between the Ottawa Redblacks and Saskatchewan Roughriders in Week 10, which was extended after the final whistle blew in overtime due to a borderline roughing the passer call.
Prior to Thursday’s game, the league announced new guidelines for replay officials which re-assert the importance of the “clear and obvious principle.” The command centre is only allowed to intervene when an obvious error has been made and a correction can be made without significant delay. They may only overturn a call when they have a clear, unobstructed view of the action in question, and the correct outcome is obvious when compared to an established standard created by the rules committee and the CFL officiating department.
All of the calls made against Dinwiddie’s team would appear to meet those criteria, especially given that suspected scoring plays are always automatically reviewed. That does not seem to placate the coach, who believes his vantage point was better than the eye in the sky’s.
The Argonauts (6-4) will return to action on Monday, September 2 when they visit the Hamilton Tiger-Cats for the Labour Day Classic at 2:30 p.m. EDT.
