The NFL has confirmed the officiating crew that will oversee next month’s Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas.
Ahead of this weekend’s Championship games, four teams remain in the hunt for the Vince Lombardi Trophy. The Baltimore Ravens will host the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC title game, with the winners of that clash taking on either the San Francisco 49ers or Detroit Lions at the Allegiant Stadium on February 11.
While fans of those four teams nervously await this weekend’s conference championships, we already know the make-up of the officiating crew.
Veteran referee Bill Vinovich will take charge of the contest as he works in a third Super Bowl. He will be joined by umpire Terry Killens, down judge Patrick Holt, line judge Mark Perlman, field judge Tom Hill, side judge Allen Baynes, back judge Brad Freeman and replay official Mike Chase.
This year’s contest will also see former NFL player Killens become the first person to both play in and officiate in a Super Bowl. Killens was part of the Tennessee Titans team that lost to the St Louis Rams in January 2000, making one special teams tackle as the Titans came up just short against ‘The Greatest Team on Turf’, led by Kurt Warner.
Vinovich hit the headlines in January 2019, when he was refereeing the Las Angeles Rams versus New Orleans Saints NFC Championship game, missing a defensive pass interference call and helmet-to-helmet penalty from Rams cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman on Saints wide receiver Tommylee Lewis near the end of regulation in a match which the Rams won in overtime. The league would later acknowledge the error and changed the rules for one season to allow teams to challenge pass interference penalties.
Live on DAZN: Watch Munguia vs. Ryder on January 27. Click here for details.