NFL Dealing With Major Officiating Problem Ahead Of Conference Championship Games
This article was originally published on Total Pro Sports.
The NFL is heading into Championship Sunday with all eyes on the games. But a serious problem could quickly take attention away once play starts.
Fans and league insiders are still confused about one vital issue. No one is fully sure who has the final say on replay reviews. That question now looms over both championship games.
The Denver Broncos host the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship at 3 p.m. ET. Later, the Seattle Seahawks face the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship at 6:30 p.m. ET. Both games will decide who advances to the Super Bowl. At the same time, there is growing concern about how replay reviews will be handled all throughout, especially with other issues already surrounding the Super Bowl.
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk pointed out the issue this week. He said the replay process feels unclear and messy. According to Florio, the lack of transparency has started to damage trust in the system.
Replay Review Confusion Clouds Championship Sunday
The NFL rulebook offers a clear line on paper. It states, “All Replay Reviews will be conducted by the Senior Vice President of Officiating or his or her designee.” Florio says that line now creates a major issue.
“There’s one major problem,” Florio wrote. “The NFL currently has no Senior Vice President of Officiating, and apparently hasn’t had one for nearly two years.”
That gap leaves fans, teams, and coaches guessing. No public source identifies who triggers replay reviews. No one explains who makes final calls in the crucial moments. Florio pointed to situations where coaches cannot throw a red challenge flag, which raises even more questions.
“It’s stunning, frankly, that a multi-billion-dollar business with so much riding on the effective implementation of the replay process would have such a glaring donut hole in both its organizational chart and its rulebook,” Florio added.
He said no one outside the league knows who actually starts replay reviews or who makes the final decisions. That lack of clarity has led to growing mistrust. It also adds pressure before games where fair and accurate calls matter most.
Florio believes the NFL needs to move quickly. He wants the league to clear things up before kickoff so there is no confusion once the games begin.
“Of all the things the NFL needs to button up ASAP, this should be the top item on the list,” he wrote. “In a perfect world, they’ll do it before 3:00 p.m. ET on Sunday.”
As kickoff gets closer, questions remain. With Super Bowl spots on the line, fans want clean, fair calls.
Right now, many are still wondering who is actually in control of replay decisions.
