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Could the accusations of the referees who favor the bosses cause a real bias against Kansas City? (Video)

Could the accusations of the referees who favor the bosses cause a real bias against Kansas City? (Video)

Nueva Orleans, considering the parade of celebrities, coaches and greats of the NFL, past and present, here for the construction of Super Bowl on SundayNormally you would not expect much interest in the media in the “Rules Analyst” for the network that transmits the game.

However, even with Rob Gronkowski, Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long and others presented at a Fox Sports Media session on Thursday, it was Mike Pereira who attracted a multitude of cameras and microphones that waited for his arrival.

“Why are everyone here? We have nothing to talk about, ”Pereira joked. “We know there is something wrong.”

The “bad” something is the fact that much of the public narrative that is directed to the clash of the city of Philadelphia-Kansas is a belief of some than The bosses have benefited from favorable arbitration.

Some believe it is a full -fledged NFL conspiracy to increase TV classifications with the presence of Patrick Mahomes and Taylor Swift. Others think it is the subtle bias that allows star players to obtain favorable whistles, a particularly accepted fact in the NBA.

Whatever, words like “rigged” and “bias” have almost drowned all other stories, including chiefs looking for three unprecedented mobs. True or false, fair or not, he has left the NFL fighting, with everyone from Commissioner Roger Goodell to The executive director of the NFL Referees Association pushing directly back in the concept.

However, perceptions become reality, especially these days. The speed and reach of social networks in particular can make stories such as this impossible to contain. And so it was Pereira, an old university and referee of the NFL, which spent a dozen seasons as the Director of Office of the League, obtaining a turn in the Center for Care.

And responding a new turn to history … Could all accusations about the referees that favor Chiefs impact what the game is called, even to the detriment of chiefs so that officials can try a point?

It’s like a reverse Jinx. Essentially, could the belief of a past bias for the bosses (even if it is not true) cause a real bias against the bosses?

“I think he exerts more pressure on officials on Sunday,” said Pereira. “They are not going to officiate the game differently, but they know they are entering the game as part of the story.”

Pereira, like all the others associated with the NFL in any way, rejects the concept, mainly, says, because officials are motivated to receive high grades in their report after the game.

“I can’t think of a profession that is evaluated and criticized more,” said Dean Blandino, who happened to Pereira that supervises the NFL referees before joining him in Fox Sports.

The better the qualifications, the more they advance in the playoffs. The Super Bowl is also his Super Bowl, an honor that dedicates much of his life towards achievement.

Kansas City, January 26: Referee Carl Cheffers (34) puts his hand on the back of the field marshal Between the Buffalo Bills and the Kansas City bosses on January 26. , 2025 in Geha Field at the Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, MO. (Photo of Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire through Getty Images)Kansas City, January 26: Referee Carl Cheffers (34) puts his hand on the back of the field marshal Between the Buffalo Bills and the Kansas City bosses on January 26. , 2025 in Geha Field at the Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, MO. (Photo of Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire through Getty Images)

The NFL and its referees have spent the week before the Super Bowl Lix that criticizes the conspiracy theories in which the solution for Kansas City is located. (Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire through Getty Images) (Icon Sportswire through Getty Images)

“I understand (the pro-kc talk) because the numbers show it and some of the so-called doubts have been the path of the bosses,” Periera said. “But in reality, the referees are just trying to do the only thing: to make the right call because they want to advance to the Super Bowl …

“From our point of view, it simply does not happen,” he continued. “It’s like the makeup call. You make a bad call against this team, you know you are going to degrade. “Oh, so we make a bad decision against this team to do so?” Now they degrade twice and you are not in the playoffs. “

It makes sense, but it is also unlikely that softens the masses.

It doesn’t matter where someone is in the subject, from the aluminum paper hat conspirator to full rejection, what is undeniable is that the officiant crew this week is very aware of what is said. They do not live in a vacuum.

“I know that when I was in the field, nobody told me to officiate a game in one way or another,” Pereira said. “And when I directed the department for 12 years, I never thought about saying anything to anyone. I didn’t even tell them: “I look at number 71, he says.” Because you don’t want to put a mentality on the head of an official because if you do, he will react exaggeratedly. “

Exactly. In this case, a false story could have a real impact. Or at least be perceived that way when the 50-50 call goes in one direction or another. Everything is turning the head at this time.

“The really good officials can block that noise,” said Blandino. “If you let that impact you, you are going to excess corrections and you will let it leak in your thinking and you will not officiate the game the best you can.”

“I don’t think officials are concerned about what is said,” Kansas City chief coach, Andy Reid, said Thursday. “They do not favor one side or another. … It is a good story, but that is not the reality of how it works. You would be insulting to think that this is what they do. They come out and call it as they see it. “

All this has left officials in a situation almost without winning. Damn if they do, damn if they don’t. It is a disaster … unless your work is a rules analyst for the transmission of the Super Bowl and suddenly has a great demand.

“This is good for my work,” Pereira said with a smile. “When I worked for the NFL, we met in a circle and said: ‘One two, without controversy.’ Then I go to Fox and I was getting air time, we would say: ‘One two, a little controversy.”

Very good possibilities that there is a small controversy on Sunday, one way or another.

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