THE NFL is facing calls from fans to change their procedures after missing a glaring error Thursday night.
League officials admitted they lacked camera angles that regular viewers watching on Amazon’s $8.99-a-month feed saw.
The incident occurred in the fourth quarter of Thursday’s game between the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks.
Seattle’s Dee Williams lined up to receive a punt from San Francisco while his team was down 23-17.
The ball bounced before it reached Williams and then brushed up close to the kick returner.
San Francisco thought the ball touched Williams and rushed to recover it to maintain possession.
Officials deemed that it did not touch the returner – and Seattle’s offense was allowed to step onto the field.
Amazon Prime’s broadcast showed a number of replays that clearly showed the ball brush Williams’ thumb as it bounced.
That would’ve made the play live and allowed the 49ers to recover.
The NFL reviewed the incident in its command center at the league’s headquarters in New York City.
But the on-field decision was upheld, much to most people’s surprise.
Amazon’s rules analyst Terry McAulay came on to clear up the issue.
He said, “I spoke with Walt Anderson and the command center in New York.
“What they’re telling me is they did not get our enhanced video that showed the ball touching the finger.
“What they had was the raw feed from our cameras and it was not clear and obvious it touched the finger.”
Fans couldn’t believe the league’s high-tech headquarters didn’t have the same camera angles as they had in their living rooms.
“Imagine being a multibillion dollar sports league and not having enough angles for review,” one said.
Another posted, “You expect us to believe that me sitting on my couch has more information than the one in NY making the call on game defining moments?”
While a third said, “You’d think in a billion dollar entertainment industry, there would be the best of the best infrastructure.
“The NFL needs to fix this quick especially if the camera footage has the power to influence games.”
And a fourth concluded, “That’s flat out unacceptable.
“Really makes the NFL, their refs, and their review process look foolish.”
