BUFFALO, NY—Reached for touch upon his expertise officiating the NFL divisional spherical playoff sport between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Buffalo Payments, referee Clay Martin instructed reporters Sunday that he couldn’t assist however grin whereas calling a penalty to convey again an enormous acquire. “I’ve to confess, watching these gamers cavalierly celebrating what they assume is a 43-yard pickup, all of the whereas figuring out I’m about to toss my flag and wipe that acquire proper off the board, I couldn’t assist however crack a smile,” stated Martin, who was noticed on tv cameras making an attempt to stifle his laughter after throwing a penalty flag that turned an enormous third-down conversion right into a ten-yard loss for an offensive holding name. “It’s particularly enjoyable if you get to throw the flag proper close to the fellows after they begin celebrating and making first-down alerts, then watching because the wind goes proper out of their sails they usually must make the lengthy stroll again downfield. Typically they get actually mad and begin yelling, which we officers all truthfully discover hilarious. One of the best half is that I didn’t name holding penalties all the opposite instances they occurred—I waited and bided my time till the penalty would trigger most frustration to the gamers and the followers. Man, I like it when the followers get upset.” Later within the sport, the officers had been seen smiling and giving one another high-fives after a questionable defensive cross interference name allowed the offense to maneuver 57 yards down the sector.
