Dean Blandino, the former NFL head of refereeing, has shut down conspiracies surrounding the league’s officials and the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Chiefs punched their ticket to their third straight Super Bowl with an AFC Championship victory over the Buffalo Bills Sunday but many NFL fans believed they have had a helping hand to make it to New Orleans.
A number of calls throughout the postseason have led many, including the likes of Dave Portnoy, Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless, to claim that the league has been rigged in the Chiefs’ favor.
However, Blandino, who oversaw the NFL’s referees from 2013 to 2017, insisted there is no conspiring from the league nor its officials to help the Chiefs reach the Super Bowl.
‘If there’s a room somewhere in the NFL offices where they were writing the script, they never invited me – and I was the head of officiating,’ he told TMZ. ‘I feel like I’d be a pretty important contributor to that.’
The 53-year-old went on to explain that even if such a script existed, it would be near-impossible for all involved to keep it under wraps for an entire season.
The NFL has been accused of being rigged after the Chiefs reached the Super Bowl yet again
Dean Blandino, the former NFL head of refereeing, has shut down those conspiracies
‘Someone somewhere would slip up and it would get out,’ he added.
Most recently, the Chiefs courted controversy when Buffalo was deemed to have missed out on a crucial first down.
Blandino acknowledged that a number of calls had gone in favor of the reigning Super Bowl champions but insisted that it was a mere coincidence.
‘Do teams get breaks at times?’ he asked. ‘They do. And not every call is right. And sometimes that happens.’
He went on to ᴀssure the Chiefs’ rivals that things tend to have a way of evening out at some point – something Kansas City fans will be hoping won’t happen until after the Big Game on February 9.
Barstool founder Portnoy was one of the latest around the league to be left seething following Sunday’s AFC Championship when he lost a staggering $1million thanks to the Chiefs’ win.
At the start of the fourth quarter the 47-year-old was left furious when Buffalo was controversially deemed to have missed out on a crucial first down, accusing NFL referees of ‘cheating’ to help Kansas City.
He shared a pH๏τo of the moment in the game and said: ‘Insane. #nflrigged’.
Dave Portnoy was one of the latest to be left seething over calls during the AFC тιтle game
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Meanwhile, a week prior fans on social media were also left livid with a number of controversial calls that went in the reigning champions’ favor during their Divisional Round win over the Houston Texans
And former Fox Sports analyst Skip Bayless shared their fury as he appeared to suggest the game was rigged in order for the NFL to continue profiting from the Taylor Swift effect.
‘Ballgame. CONGRATS, NFL. YOU MADE SURE MAHOMES SURVIVED. THE SWIFTIES WILL BE BACK IN FULL FORCE FOR THE AFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME. YOU GAVE MAHOMES THE REFEREE SUPPORT HE NEEDED,’ Bayless aggressively posted to X.
Meanwhile, Patrick Mahomes was met with backlash from many fans, including Portnoy, for ‘flopping.’
While it was heartbreak for Portnoy and the Bills on Sunday, the Chiefs are now just one win away from becoming the first team in NFL history to win three consecutive Super Bowls.
Travis Kelce will take on his brother Jason’s beloved Philadelphia Eagles in New Orleans on February 9 after beating Josh Allen and Buffalo again.
Referee Ron Torbert will head up the officiating crew for Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans
The NFL has already unveiled its officiating crew for Super Bowl LIX with referee Ron Torbert set to head up the team in New Orleans.
Torbert was ᴀssigned to the NFL’s season finale after working the Washington Commander’s Divisional Round win over the Detroit Lions at the weekend.
It is the second Super Bowl ᴀssignment for the 61-year-old, who was the referee when the Los Angeles Rams beat the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 at Super Bowl LVI in Inglewood, California .
The officiating crew also consists of umpire Mike Morton, down judge Max Causey, line judge Mark Stewart, field judge Mearl Robinson, side judge Boris Cheek, back judge Jonah Monroe and replay official Kevin Brown.
