Football
Ref admits ‘that was pretty odd’ after rarely-seen incident in CFL game
A CANADIAN Football League referee gave a comical explanation for a bizarre play.
The sequence occurred during the second quarter of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ 20-11 win over the B.C. Lions.
The Lions punted the ball, which hit the BC Place scoreboard.
The sequence caught the players off guard as CFL ref Ben Major explained the situation to fans.
“The kick hit the scoreboard…which is pretty odd. We’re going to redo everything,” Major said.
“We’ll redo the play. We’ll reset the clock to 2:44 with a new 20-second clock.
“It’s just a redo.”
The ref’s explanation caused the CFL on TNT commentator booth of Dustin Neilson and Glen Suitor to laugh.
Nielson chimed in, saying, “Ben Major just saying what we’re all thinking.”
Suitor then added, “I love it, I love it.”
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Fans were also in hysterics over the unusual punt play on X.
“This is my favorite CFL moment of the season so far!” one commented.
“This is absolutely great,” another added.
“Referee call of the year,” a third stated.
The 2009 opening of the Dallas Cowboys‘ AT&T Stadium had issues of punts hitting the big central jumbotron.
As a result, the do-over rule was implemented during that same year.
Still, punts have hit the Cowboys video board numerous times, including twice in 2022.
The ref’s call overshadowed quarterback Nathan Rourke’s return to the CFL’s Lions.
Rourke entered the CFL in 2021 and received the CFL Most Outstanding Canadian award a year later before playing in the NFL in 2022 and 2023.
However, he recorded just 126 passing yards in two interceptions in the game.
Rourke completed just eight passes on 25 attempts.
Winnipeg quarterback Zach Collaros threw for 288 yards and a touchdown in the victory.