How Much Did Super Bowl XLs Officiating Affect The Outcome?
Bill Leavy, the referee of Super Bowl XL between the Steelers and Seahawks (Win Probability graph), recently apologized for his mistakes in the game. “I kicked two calls in the fourth quarter and I impacted the game, and as an official you never want to do that. It left me with a lot of sleepless nights, and I think about it constantly,” he admitted. Leavy is referring to two critical calls he made in the 4th quarter. But there were a couple other controversial calls earlier in the game, each going against the Seahawks. In this post, I’ll look at each situation and measure their impact on the game. Each of the calls were questionable to varying degrees, and I’ll leave it up to others to decide whether they were defensible or not. The Offensive Pass Interference The first controversial call was an offensive pass interference penalty on Seattle in the 1st quarter that nullified a touchdown. It was tied 0-0 with 2:08 left in the quarter. Had the touchdown stood, SEA would have a 7-point l
