For those looking for some retribution against the crew that officiated the Arkansas-Florida game, your wish has been granted.
SEC commissioner Mike Slive announced today that the entire crew had been suspended and will not be eligible to officiate a game again until Nov. 14. They were next scheduled to work a game on Oct. 31, but they will be replaced by an unnamed group.
“A series of calls that have occurred during the last several weeks have not been to the standard that we expect from our officiating crews,” Slive said in a statement. “I believe our officiating program is the best in the country, however, there are times when these actions must be taken.”
Not only were the officials responsible for three horrendous calls in the Gators-Razorbacks game, but they were also the crew who flagged wide receiver A.J. Green for a phantom excessive celebration penalty earlier this month in the Georgia-LSU game.
The officials affected by the suspension are referee Marc Curles, umpire Ronnie Jones, linesman Randall Kizer, line judge Michael Shirley, back judge Michael Watson, field judge Greg Thomas and side judge Jesse Dupuy.
Slive said the entire crew should be held accountable for the calls that the conference later admitted were incorrect.
“While only a few calls have been identified, the entire crew shoulders responsibility for each play,” Slive said. “I have taken this action because there must be accountability in our officiating program. Our institutions expect the highest level of officiating in all of our sports and it is the duty of the conference office to uphold that expectation.”
Something needed to be done about this crew in particular, and kudos to the SEC for taking some kind of action, although I’m quite certain this will fail to soothe the anguish of Razorback fans.
To be honest, though, it doesn’t really go far enough. No member of that crew should see a collegiate football field for the remainder of 2009, and should not be eligible to return next season until they’ve undergone extensive retraining.
But that’s just me...