A referee controversy arises during a timeout in the game between the Chiefs and Ravens

The 2024 NFL season has only been played once, but the first referee controversy has already occurred. And it could already have the Chiefs conspiracy theorists up in arms.

At the end of the first half in the game between Kansas City and the Baltimore Ravens, the hosts had a personnel problem in defense and needed a timeout due to the imminent danger – the Ravens were seven yards from the Chiefs end zone with 2nd & goal.

As a result, defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo ran along the sideline and demanded a timeout, which he was granted.

The problem: According to the rules, only the head coach is allowed to call a timeout from the sideline.

The subsequent timeout helped the Chiefs. Nine seconds before the end, the Super Bowl winners were given time to regroup and were able to force an incompletion by the Ravens. The visitors had to settle for a field goal and there was no chance of a touchdown.

Timeout call not in accordance with the rules

Terry McAulay, an analyst for the US broadcaster “NBC”, made it clear that a timeout requested by Spagnuolo on the sideline is not valid. “He can’t do that. It has to be the head coach who does that. Nobody but the head coach can call a timeout on the sideline,” McAulay said.

“NBC” host Mike Tirico also said an official ‘in the back corner’ recognized Spagnuolo’s timeout and blew the whistle. When the defensive coordinator subsequently turned to Chiefs head coach Andy Reid, he looked embarrassed, according to TV footage.

A short time later, a referee also approached the assistant coach and appeared to give him a warning.

Incidentally, the cameras did not catch what head coach Reid was doing at that moment