I just finished reading, well, skimming, the CFL Officials Handbook (aka “Mechanics”), and there’s nothing there about asking teams whether to accept of decline penalties, let alone whether teams are allowed to change their minds. So it’s not in the rule book nor the handbook. Meaning it probably comes down to the following rule:
[b]RULE 2 – OFFICIALS
SECTION 2 – JURISDICTION & DUTIES OF OFFICIALS
Article 2 – The Referee[/b]
The Referee shall take primary charge of the game and shall:
...
• Adjudicate upon disputes or matters not provided for in the rules
...
Unless I missed it in one of the two documents. Quite possible.
My bet is that it’s spelled out in the latest version of the CFL mechanics book if it’s not in the actual rule book. That sort of scenario is not left to chance. Once the non offending team has made their decision, that’s usually final…has nothing to do with the ball being placed or not. Crew probably just made an error allowing a change or maybe they just didn’t want to put up with the additional yelling from the sidelines…
I am guessing that if it is in there at all it would be in the 2006 one he found. I don’t ever recall seeing it in the various copies I have seen, and I have seen newer copies than from 2006…but looked at it as a long shot. like yougottabekidding, it is more about how to / tips on officiating more so than actual rules.
And fyi…the book is not called “mechanics” that is simply a volume of the handbook…it is simply the only one ever used. I don’t think I have actually ever seen another volume, I just know they exist.