Referee from Lions-Cowboys explains controversial non-call against Cowboys

According to the referee whose crew called pass interference on Dallas Cowboys linebacker Anthony Hitchens and then announced the call was reversed, an official with a better view came in and that caused the change.

Referee Pete Morelli met with pool reporter Todd Archer of ESPN.com and explained why and how the call got reversed. He also made clear that face-guarding is not a foul in the NFL, although many people are under the assumption is it.

Here’s the transcript, via a tweet by the Detroit News’ Josh Katzenstein:

Archer: Can you talk about the decision to overturn the call and why you overturned the call.
Morelli: The back judge threw his flag for defensive pass interference. We got other information from a different angle that thought the contact was minimal and didn’t warrant pass interference. He thought it was face-guarding.

Archer: Which official?
Morelli: The head linesman.

Archer: What did you see?
Morelli: It’s not my responsibility. I’m a hundred miles away.

Archer: Face-guarding is not a foul?
Morelli: Face-guarding is not a foul. It is a penalty in college but not in professional football.

Archer: What is the process you go through after you announce the call? Should you have waited before you announced the call?
Morelli: Probably, yes. The information came and then the officials got together a little bit later, after it was given to me, the first information. It would probably been smoother if we got together.

Archer: Do you remember this type of (play) happening before?
Morelli: No, not particularly.

Archer: So one more time on who the person was that had the better view?
Morelli: The better view was from the head linesman.

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab