The Officiating in the CFL is lacking. The NFL refs are so crisp and clean, they know their job and do it well it is very quick with calls and they make quality calls consistently. There are nowhere near the amount of wrong calls in the entire NFL season as there is in one CFL game. I believe that if the CFL is to be taken more seriously and move in a forward direction the Officiating must go under severe review.
I was watching the Bombers and Allouettes game a few weeks ago and when the refs made the game a joke by allowing a challenge in a time where no challenges are accepted. Not only did they accept the challenge and go to review it, but after the review they overturned the call in Montreal's favour, when it was clear that it should have been Winnipeg's ball. The commentating personnel were blown away by the clear stupidity of the Officials, and the Coaches were infuriated. I could not believe what I was seeing and thought for sure that someone should be held accountable for these insane calls.
I believe that SOME officials are not intelligent enough to be refs in what should be a high calibre football league such as the CFL. The amount of times that a game has started to become a joke because the refs start to look very unorganized and at times confused. They make ridiculous calls and embarass the league.
I just wish that someone would go after these refs and fire some, or they should be receiving some sort of penalty. The amount of bad calls that they get away with in one game alone is dreadful. The quality of refs must increase to make this league even stronger and better. The skill of refs in the NFL is outstanding I am very impressed and whatever they are doing to train refs and keep the quality up to par, the CFL should look into.
There are refereeing controversies in all sports all the time. I'm just happy the penalties in the CFL are not as game-deciding as in the recent World Cup soccer tournament. Many games were decided on a single refereeing judgement call.
So whether you think the refs called last Fridays game in favour of the Bombers, or in our favour (the interference call that gave us a first and goal at the one), the simple fact is that the refs did not determine the outcome of the game. The players did.
Having said all that, we (the CFL as a whole) are committed to continually improving our refereeing.
The NFL refs make less mistakes? What NFL have you been watching?
If you're going to try and point out mistakes by the refs, try not to use examples where they were correct. The challenge in the Winnipeg/Montreal game was allowed because it came before the 3-minute warning, even though the clock had gone down below 3 minutes. It after the warning that challenges are not allowed. (but I agree that they probably made the wrong call on the play anyway)
Dear Mr. Black head of CFL officiating, your ref's in the CFL stink!!
I have watched every Ti-Cat game this year and years past and the crappy calls that have been handed out to the Tiger-Cats makes you wonder who is being payed off here and how much money are the ref's taking under the table to make these crappy calls.
It's okay to hit Jason Maas after he throws the ball but we can't touch any QB in the league without a roughing the passer penilty being charged against us, heck I have seen opposition QB's pick their nose harder than some of the hits they have recieved???
Now about that play where Corey Holmes dropped the ball on the punt return against Winterpeg and the ball went out of bounds and the bumbers player claimed he recovered the ball. Once again, as all 3 Million watching could see, the ball was out of bounds when touched by the bumbers player. So why does the ref need audio? It's totally, 100% visual, he looks at the replay and see's that the ball is clearly out of bounds and makes the appropriate call not come back and say, there is no audio therefore the play stands it's Winnipeg's ball and (I look forward to recieving my payout by the bumbers at the end of the game)for making such a crappy call????
It's time that the CFL wakes up and gets the bad officating calls against the Ti-Cats straghtened out this is supposed to be a level playing field for all teams but unfortunatly the Cats have recieved well more than there share of bad calls that could easily change the outcome of any game.
I too was wondering what they meant so I checked it out myself.....
The "no audio" was referring to the communication link between the TSN "techie/video" truck outside the stadium and the Replay tent the officials use.....what happens is that the TSN guys queue up the different angles and the officials direct them as to when to show them etc.......there is a 90 second window to do this as I understand, and with no communication link between the two parties, it became impossible to go through with it....
now, the question becomes....what happened to the communications link all of a sudden?....lol
That “no audio” thing on the Ticats replay challenge was an embarrassment to everyone associated with the CFL, myself included.
Any technical system can fail for any number of reasons, from blown fuses to spilled coffee, which is why most important technical systems have redundant back-up ways of getting things done. Didn’t anyone have a cell phone?
Great point!..I recall the Roughrider/Ticats webcast experiment in 2004 by the Ticats techies…the first method went a little wonky at a critical moment and was quickly patched to the back-up, simpler method…mission accomplished!
A quick back-up plan of a cell-phone link should have been already planned ahead…gotta wonder how some people deserve their paycheques when these are the things they are being paid to plan ahead for…ughhhhhhh :roll:
Bob I think we're all lucky that the lack of a challenge wasn't a turning point in the game. The bombers only got a point out of the play. Having said that I'm sure that George Black has learned a valuable lesson from what happened. Next time I'm sure there'll be a "redundant back-up" ie. cell phone or even walkie talkies available.
A bigger concern was that the clock was allowed to run out in the 2nd quarter with (according to what was seen on TSN (not official time of course)) two seconds left and the Cats on the Winnipeg 40. There should have been enough time for us to kick a 3 pointer. I'm assuming that the "official" in charge of the clock is from the home team and therefore would have no incentive to be efficient in stopping the clock.
Having said that, before the ref whistled in the play (with 9 seconds to go) I was saying to myself that the Cats should call a time out. That way the clock would not start until the snap of the ball. Sure it might have taken away the team's momentum, but it also would have ensured at least one more play, possibly that field goal.
btw bob, I think it would be nice if there was an official statement by George Black as to what the call would have been if the play had been reviewed. (He made a similar statement unofficially at Touchdown Atlantic in 2005 when the Ticat's were not allowed to challenge incorrectly). Is there anything that the team can do to facilitate such a statement?
My own thinking (as hard as it is to say) would be that the call on the field would have stood as there did not appear to be "overwhelmingly conclusive" evidence to the contrary. It still may have been out of bounds. I just don't think the video evidence I've seen supports that.
I noticed on Hudson holding call that the ref I think it was (Bud Steen) didn't throw the flag until the ball was completed to Flick 20 Plus yrds down field. Which makes you wonder if he was watching to see if the pass would be completed. I've noticed that he and Jake Ireland are the refs that call alot of crappy bs calls againts the ticats has anyone noticed this also.
The best referees in the league sit in the seats at Ivor Wynne stadium each game the Cats play. Now, if only the league would hand over power, fans could vote by cell phone when a call is challenged!
The issue that it is about time the CFL hire quality referees has been around since most of you were only a thought at the Starlite drive-in theatre in the 60’s. Surprise, surprise!
:thup:I thought I was the only one that noticed that ireland has it in for the TICATS he should not be allowed to ref a TICAT game ever again in his career. It always seems there is a lot of miss calls which you and I see that sliiiiiip under the turf. Am I right or not.
notice how the refs made lief peterson sound like a fool know its not hard to do. on terry vaughans interference call in the 1st qtr with the late flag threw flag after terry pushed off instead throwing the flag when the penalty happened
