John Parry Named Super Bowl LIII Head Referee

The NFL has announced the officials who will work Super Bowl LIII on Feb. 3, led by John Parry as the head referee. 

Per NFL Officiating on Twitter, four of the seven officials given duties for this year's game have already worked at least one Super Bowl:

Per ESPN's Field Yates, Parry served as head referee during the New York Giants' 21-17 win over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI. 

The 54-year-old Parry generated headlines during the Dallas Cowboys-Los Angeles Rams NFC Divisional Round Game on Saturday when he blew the whistle as Dak Prescott was in the grasp of a teammate during the second quarter.

Speaking to Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times (h/t Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk), Parry explained the call.

“From my view the quarterback’s progress had stopped moving forward,” Parry said. “There were hands around him and another defender was coming, so we went in the grasp to protect the quarterback.”

Per Cameron Filipe of FootballZebras.com, Parry has been an NFL official since 2000 and a referee for the past 12 seasons. 

Parry's first Super Bowl assignment was as a side judge in February 2007 for the Indianapolis Colts vs. Chicago Bears game. 

Super Bowl LIII will be held at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.