Brad Allen has been called by the NFL for the Baltimore Ravens’ game against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 18. Last week he was still causing plenty of discussion

The Baltimore Ravens have already qualified for the playoffs as the AFC’s number one seed, while the Pittsburgh Steelers are still in contention for the postseason in Saturday’s head-to-head clash.

Incidentally, the game will be refereed by Brad Allen. That wouldn’t be big news in itself, as he is one of 17 head referees in the NFL. In view of the past weekend, however, the appointment should come as at least a little surprise.

Allen made one of the most controversial calls of the current season last week when he ruled “illegal touching” in the Detroit Lions’ important clash with the Dallas Cowboys on what should have been a successful two-point conversion by the franchise from the “Motor City”, allowing “America’s Team” to save its narrow 20:19 lead.

This call made waves afterwards. The Lions players around Taylor Decker and Dan Skipper, who were thrown on by Jared Goff, and Head Coach Dan Campbell were naturally less than pleased, especially as the Lions fell behind the Cowboys in the NFC rankings

NFL defends Referee Allen and sends video

The NFL, however, came to Allen’s defense and sent a video to teams explaining how to declare a player “eligible”. Apparently, it was not properly noted before Detroit’s play that tackle Decker was to be used as a potential pass catcher on the two-point conversion.

Allen’s reinstatement, especially for a game with playoff implications, can certainly be interpreted as backing for the referee. After all, there would also have been games in which the postseason is no longer at stake, such as the clash between the New York Jets and the New England Patriots on Sunday.