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Vote: What Should the NFL Be Most Concerned With About Using Replacement Refs?

The NFL has a mess on its hands, and the league needs to clean it up before there are serious consequences.

The longer an agreement cannot be reached between the NFL and its officials, the greater chance there is that a critical call will be missed or that a player’s safety could be compromised. The NFL thought it could get away with having faceless replacement refs officiating regular season games without fans noticing — that hasn’t been the case.

If NFL officials do not return soon, it could compromise the integrity of the NFL. These officials are not experienced with the rules of the NFL and there’s a greater potential of a scandal because of that. News already broke that a replacement ref told LeSean McCoy he needed him to produce for his fantasy team. A betting scandal caused NBA officiating to be under constant fire — the NFL doesn’t need that same headache.

There seems to be more cases of NFL players acting out in games this season than in recent years. It appears that the players do not respect the rule of the replacement officials and they’ve voiced their displeasure publically. If situations continue to arise with players fighting on the field, will the replacement refs be able to control them? The last thing the league needs is more cause for concern about player safety.

Fans are paying big money to attend NFL games and they want the best product they can see. As long as the NFL is using scabs, that means the NFL is not living up to its full potential. The NFL is built around its massive fan base and could potentially lose fans because of greed. If you’ve followed social media the last two weekends, the No. 1 topic of conversation has been the officiating.

If a call is missed that affects the score of a game, it could have serious playoff implications. Patriots fans were already complaining over some calls in Sunday’s Cardinals game, and while those didn’t seem serious enough to affect the result of the game, it is constantly on our minds. While the regular NFL officials do miss calls as well, at least we know they’re the best men for the jobs.

So what do you think the NFL should be most concerned with about the replacement officials?

What should be the NFL be most concerned with about the replacement officials?