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NFL Announces Officiating Crew For Super Bowl 59

Originally posted on The Spun | By Tzvi Machlin | Last updated Jan 21, 2025 1:40 PM ET

Super Bowl LIX is officially 19 days away and while we don't yet know which of the four remaining teams will be competing for the Vince Lombardi Trophy, we do know who will be officiating the game.

On Tuesday, the NFL announced which officiating team will be working the game on the big game at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. The team will be led by referee Ron Torbert, who will be working on his second Super Bowl as the referee. He previously served as the referee in Super Bowl LVI, which saw the Los Angeles Rams defeat the Cincinnati Bengals.

Torbert has been working as an NFL official since 2010 when he started as a side judge before becoming a full referee in 2014. At the time of his promotion, he became just the eighth African-American referee in history. His first Super Bowl came in Super Bowl LIII, when he worked as the alternate referee.

Here are the other seven members of his team, via ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter:

Umpire: Mike Morton
Down Judge: Max Causey
Line Judge: Mark Stewart
Field Judge: Mearl Robinson
Side Judge: Boris Cheek
Back Judge: Jonah Monroe
Replay Official: Kevin Browne

Schefter noted that Cheek is the only member of this officiating team to have previously worked in a Super Bowl, having worked in Super Bowls XLII, 50 and LIV. That leaves a lot of new blood working in their first Super Bowl.

The Super Bowl LIX officiating crew: pic.twitter.com/OT8rwQp685
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 21, 2025

Nevertheless, fans in the comments are already remarking that this officiating crew is likely going to be giving the Chiefs favorable calls in the game. Fans were also a bit dismayed to learn how many flags this crew is known for giving out in the regular season:

"Torbert’s crew averaged 17 penalties per game, 3rd most in the NFL. This is not what the fans want," one user remarked.

"They're getting ready to start calling hip drop tackles when the Chiefs get tackled short of the 1st on 3rd down!" another predicted.

"Need to know the chiefs records with all these guys asap," a third remarked.

"KC picking up free agents? It's branded that way..." a fourth joked about the colors of the graphics.

It's definitely a rough time to be an official for a Kansas City Chiefs game. The best Torbert and his team can hope for is that the Chiefs don't make the Super Bowl so they can't be accused of being biased towards them.

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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