Referee Clete Blakeman missed spotting a facemask on Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson, against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.
Fans trolled the referee.
“2 facemask penalties no call, unreal,” a Twitter user said.
“The no penalty was revenge from the NFL on the face mask for Watson,” another one added.
“Hellen Keller could ref better than Clete Blakeman and crew. What an embarrassment to the sport,” a third one tweeted.
Blakeman started officiating American football in the Big 12 Conference before making the switch to the NFL in 2008 as a field judge for the first two seasons of his pro football career as an official. Blakeman then began refereeing for the NFL in 2010, as Don Carey switched back to the back judge position.
Watson just completed a three-touchdown game against Washington last week. His initiation into the storied rivalry between his new team and the Steelers provides him with the chance to not only endanger Pittsburgh’s tenuous playoff aspirations but also guarantee the Browns a finish ahead of the Steelers in the AFC North rankings for the first time since 1989.
In another controversy the team has been dealing with, the Cleveland Browns did not bring Jadeveon Clowney on their trip to Pittsburgh for the season finale after the defensive end was sent home from practice Friday for biting remarks he made about the organization and coaching staff.
Before departing Saturday, the Browns officially downgraded Clowney to out.
Coach Kevin Stefanski was intentionally vague Friday about Clowney’s standing, but intimated the Browns were moving forward without him by saying, “Nothing comes above the team.”
