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Did the NFL Snub Brad Allen and Choose Bill Vinovich as Super Bowl LVIII Head Referee Due to Odious Officiating?

Published 02/05/2024, 5:30 AM EST

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USA Today via Reuters

By the time the 2023 NFL regular season ended, Brad Allen had become a controversial referee. The officiating blunders became evident in the Kanas City Chiefs vs. Green Bay Packers matchup in Week 13. Because of several allegedly botched calls, the Chiefs lost 27-19 to the Packers.

The NFL might have learned from its mistake, giving Bill Vinovich a chance. But Vinovich is yet another referee who is famous for making horrendous calls. He was refereeing during the Super Bowl in 2020 when the Chiefs went against the Niners and came out with a last-moment win. The famous Nick Bosa call was the talk of the town after the Niners lost. Will such a thing happen again?

Will the Super Bowl LIV nightmare repeat for the San Francisco 49ers?

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According to a CBS report, the 49ers are currently 2-4 in the games that Vinovich has officiated, while the Chiefs are 5-2. The NFL has announced that Vinovich will officiate at SB LVIII. This is his 19th year as an NFL official, but the fans don’t seem confident in him. An article from Niners Nation paints Vinovich in an uncertain light. By the looks of their report, it seems like the official has a penchant for the Chiefs.

via Getty

He will be joined by some of the same crew members he previously worked with. Umpire Terry Killens, down judge Patrick Holt, field judge Tom Hill, line judge Mark Perlman, and side judge Allen Baynes are among the few who will join the SB LVIII officiating crew. His bad stint of officiating came to light when he penalized George Kittle’s halftime catch for over 40 yards. He also let the Chiefs get away with a holding call on Nick Bosa in the last quarter of the SB LIV.

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Naturally, people are afraid that the Niners might get the short end of the stick with Vinovich in charge, like what happened to the Chiefs in their Week 13 loss to the Packers when Brad Allen was officiating.

How Brad Allen ‘ruined’ the Chiefs-Packers game

Two significant instances come to mind when thinking about the Chiefs’ Week 13 game. The first was when Carrington Valentine wasn’t charged for holding Marquez Valdes Scantling on a defensive pass interference. If it had been properly officiated, he would have scored a touchdown.

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The second instance involved Patrick Mahomes’ Hail Mary to Travis Kelce, which ended up incomplete because Travis Kelce was shoved in the end zone and couldn’t catch the ball. While there is a common understanding that refs don’t call fouls on a Hail Mary throw, whether it’s in the offense’s favor or not, in this case, it should have.

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With Brad Allen out of the SB conversation and Vinovich in, will we see a fair, precise officiating in the Super Bowl? What do you think?

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Written by:

Abhinav Prakash

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Shubhankar Adhikari