Photo: Michael Scraper/3DownNation. All rights reserved.

Long-time referee Andre Proulx has acknowledged what fans already knew: the CFL replay centre, formerly known as the command centre, doesn’t always get things right.

The most egregious recent example came during the final week of the regular season in a game between the Edmonton Elks and the Calgary Stampeders. In the second quarter, the Elks’ running back Justin Rankin scored an apparent touchdown, but the play was reviewed and showed he fumbled the ball at the one-yard line. A Stampeders’ defender picked up the ball in the end zone long after whistles blew and the touchdown was signalled, and the command centre elected to give Calgary the ball at their own 30-yard line.

In a French-language press conference at the 112th Grey Cup, Proulx admitted it was the wrong call.

“It happens sometimes that I disagree with the command centre,” he said. “We had that situation where the ball was fumbled at the one, but the referees signalled a touchdown. The player who fumbled (Rankin) didn’t make a full effort to get it back because he saw the officials’ arms in the air. The only player who jumped on the ball was a Stampeders player. The replay showed that there was a fumble, but by rule, since everybody stopped playing, the touchdown call should have stood. If it had happened in the middle of the field, everybody would have kept playing. It didn’t happen in this case.”

In those situations, the head referee doesn’t have the final say. On this occasion, Proulx saw the play and felt the decision was wrong. He admitted he should have spoken up at the time.

“I was telling myself, ‘They are supposed to know the rules like me.’ Looking back, I should have spoken up, but I didn’t,” he said. “Not too long ago, we couldn’t criticize the command centre, so I told myself in that moment that they had probably seen something I didn’t. However, the reviews on the big screens exist now.”

Proulx emphasized that officiating football is not an easy job. There are multiple steps required before getting to the pro level. He is proud of the job that he and his CFL referee colleagues do in every game of the season, as they compete for the honour of refereeing the Grey Cup.

“Nobody knows it, but there are 140 plays per game, and we’re evaluated on each of them,” he said. “We’re probably our best critics. We don’t hide when we make mistakes; we know it’s on tape. The most important thing is not to make too many mistakes.”

“It’s like every time you answer the phone, someone is listening to see if I say the right thing,” Kevin Riopel, the side judge for the Grey Cup, added. “There is not just one person who assesses us. Coaches watch the tapes as well and give feedback.”

CFL commissioner Stewart Johnston stated that the replay centre’s mandate will be one of the items reviewed during the league’s winter meetings in January. Perhaps those in the booth will finally be held to the same level of accountability as those hearing the jeers of fans at field level.