Pete Morelli's Officiating Crew Reportedly Removed from Cowboys vs. Redskins

On the heels of a rough performance in the Week 12 contest between the Arizona Cardinals and the San Francisco 49ers, referee Pete Morelli and his officiating crew were reportedly pulled from the Week 13 Monday Night Football game pitting the Dallas Cowboys against the Washington Redskins.  

Pro Football Talk first reported the NFL's decision to discipline Morelli and Co. on Tuesday. However, Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com reported Morelli was assigned to the game between the New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 13, while Walt Anderson's crew was given the Monday Night Football matchup "before Sunday's games were ever played."

Officiating has been a hot-button issue in the NFL this season, and Week 12 featured a number of controversial calls. Perhaps no game was more poorly officiated than the Cards' 19-13 win over the Niners on Sunday, though.

As seen in this video, courtesy of Fox Sports NFL rules analyst Mike Pereira, Morelli's crew incorrectly called an illegal-touching penalty on Cardinals wide receiver John Brown and struggled with determining the down:

In addition, Pereira questioned a roughing-the-passer call on San Francisco's Quinton Dial late in the fourth quarter that went a long way toward costing the 49ers the game:

Pereira wasn't the only one who was disappointed in the officiating, as Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians was critical despite having a crucial call work out in his favor, according to Kent Somers of AZCentral.com: "The officials were struggling. Mightily. They can't count to three. ... It was a FUBAR on their part. They can try to explain it. They're wrong."

Niners guard Alex Boone was fired up as well, and he didn't pull any punches regarding his thoughts on the officiating, according to ESPN.com's Paul Gutierrez:

"

I'm not really too worried about getting fined. I thought those refs sucked. ... That's what I'm sick about this league. This is supposed to be a man's game. Be a man, and that's what pisses me off. It's guys like that (who) work in this league, and we're on the field, and we have to deal with it. Whatever.

"

Per Ryan O'Halloran of the Florida Times-Union, Sunday was far from the first time Morelli and his team have drawn the ire of observers this season:

The 64-year-old Morelli has been an NFL official since 1997 and a referee since 2003. While this season has arguably been his toughest, he is no stranger to controversy.

Morelli was the referee in last year's NFC Wild Card Game between the Cowboys and the Detroit Lions that saw a crucial pass-interference call get overturned, which ultimately led to a Dallas win.

Many of the NFL's officiating problems in 2015 have stemmed from a lack of clarity in the rule book, but the failings of Morelli's crew in Week 12 seemingly went beyond that.

The NFL is under pressure to do something in order to improve its officiating, and while moving Morelli's crew isn't likely to solve the overarching problem, it may be a sign the league realizes it needs to take action.

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