Late on Wednesday afternoon this week, the SEC released an official statement saying that the officiating crew from the Florida-Arkansas game has been suspended. According to the press release, the crew was removed from its next assignment (Halloween night) and will not be assigned to any game until at least November 14.
SEC Commissioner Mike Slive had this to say: "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. I believe our officiating program is the best in the country. However, there are times when these actions must be taken."
The bad calls that prompted this decision included the excessive celebration penalty against A.J. Green in the Georgia-LSU game (I'm glad to see that the SEC also did not agree with this call). Also, those of you who watched the last quarter of the Florida-Arkansas game know that the pass interference and personal foul penalties on the Gators' touchdown drive were BS. The pass interference was nothing but a great defensive play. The personal foul was a great block. Since when do you penalize a player for making a great play?
I disagree with Slive on his comment that "our officiating program is the best in the country". If the SEC officials are the best in the country, then why do they make SO MANY bad calls?
Here's some YouTubes of the bad calls:
