The Chiefs haven't made the Super Bowl yet, but their fans are already furious about the game's referee
The Kansas City Chiefs are appearing in their fifth straight conference title game and are only a win away from their third Super Bowl appearance in that span. But they still need to win Sunday’s game against the Bengals before they can start worrying about the Super Bowl referee assignment.
Some Chiefs fans, though, have skipped that step.
The NFL announced its officiating crew on Tuesday for Super Bowl 57, and Carl Cheffers — who served as referee in Super Bowl 51 and 55 — is getting the nod once again as lead referee. Chiefs fans, of course, remember Cheffers’ work in Super Bowl 55 where the Chiefs were called for 120 penalty yards on 11 penalties.
The Super Bowl LVII officiating crew: pic.twitter.com/y63WiFsEEl
— NFL Officiating (@NFLOfficiating) January 24, 2023
But Cheffers hasn’t been kind to the Chiefs in general, which includes this year. Cheffers has accounted for 17 percent of the Chiefs’ total penalties and 20 percent of their penalty yards this season (postseason included) despite only working two of their games.
In the Chiefs’ Week 15 game against the Texans, Kansas City was called for 10 penalties and 102 yards. So, it’s understandable that the Chiefs wouldn’t be thrilled to see Cheffers get that assignment. Still, it was odd to see Chiefs fans upset over the ref for a game they haven’t made yet.