The New England Patriots will play in a game officiated by referee Bill Vinovich for the second time in three contests.
The NFL announced Tuesday that Vinovich will be the head referee for Super Bowl XLIX between the Patriots and Seattle Seahawks on Feb. 1 in Glendale, Ariz. It will be the first Super Bowl and the sixth playoff game Vinovich has worked in his nine-year career as an NFL ref.
Vinovich’s fifth playoff game came just two weeks ago in the Patriots’ AFC divisional-round matchup against the Baltimore Ravens at Gillette Stadium. During that game, of course, New England ran several plays with four offensive linemen, drawing the ire of Ravens head coach John Harbaugh.
Harbaugh later said that his problem wasn’t with the formation itself but with Vinovich’s crew, which he believes failed to notify his team who was and wasn’t eligible in a timely fashion.
The Patriots are 5-1 in games refereed by Vinovich, including 2-0 in the playoffs, according to the Boston Herald’s Jeff Howe. If you ask Sports Illustrated’s Michael Rosenberg, he might tell you those statistics back up his theory that Vinovich is intimidated by Patriots head coach Bill Belichick.
Then again, the Seahawks are 9-1 in games reffed by Vinovich (via Jeff Howe), so maybe he’s intimidated by everyone in this game. Or he earned his spot in this game by being in the top tier of NFL officials this season. Either way.
Thumbnail photo via Charles LeClaire/USA TODAY Sports Images
