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NEW YORK, Oct. 16 (UPI) -- The National Football League took the unusual step Thursday of punishing two referees for errors in different Monday Night Football Games, sources said. Side judge Rob Vernatchi has been sidelined for a week, and back judge Greg Wilson was rescheduled to a lower-profile game for errors the two made in different games earlier this month.
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Vernatchi, responsible for game clock accuracy in Monday's game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and San Diego Chargers, let 18 seconds run off late in the fourth quarter.
Wilson missed an illegal bat penalty in the Oct. 5 game between the Seattle Seahawks and Detroit Lions. If Wilson had caught the penalty, the Lions would have kept possession at the 1-yard line. However, the Seahawks ran out the clock and won the game.
The NFL said all the officials of the Steelers-Chargers game, including the clock operator at San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium, will have the event included in their evaluation at season's end.
The league evaluates officials every week, but during the off season, decided to hire three "swing" officials, allowing the NFL to replace officials quickly for various reasons including performance.
As sports officiating gets greater scrutiny than ever, the move proves the league is willing to take dramatic action.
