NFL to use replacement referees for Week 1
(CBS/AP) NEW YORK - The NFL will open the regular season with replacement officials.
Replacements will be on the field beginning next Wednesday night when the Cowboys visit the Giants to open the season, league executive Ray Anderson told the 32 teams. Negotiations are at a standstill between the NFL and the officials' union.,
The NFL Referees Association was locked out in early June and talks on a new collective bargaining agreement went nowhere. Replacements have been used throughout the preseason, with mixed results.
In 2001, the NFL used replacements for the first week of the regular season before a contract was finalized.
Anderson, the NFL's executive vice president of football operations, told the clubs in a memo that the replacements will work "as much of the regular season as necessary," adding that training with each crew will continue.
A request for comment from the NFLRA was not immediately answered.
Anderson said the sides remain apart on economic issues and other matters and called the gap considerable.
Last week, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said using replacement referees for regular-season games is worthwhile to ensure long-term improvements to officiating.
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"These officials have been trained," Goodell said of the replacement refs who have been calling preseason games. "We've been working with them. We think they'll do a very credible job."
However, as CBSSports.com noted, players haven't hidden the fact that they've been unimpressed with the replacements. ("We were all laughing on the sidelines at how clueless they were," said one player.)
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While the NFL and officials disagree on some financial matters, Goodell also characterized the differences as "philosophical." The NFL's proposal includes making some refs full-time — currently all game officials work part-time with outside jobs — and adding more crews.