Gridiron referee reverses own decision

NRL referees could learn a thing or two from a US gridiron official who reversed his own decision after being proven wrong by the offending team.

Last night in Brisbane’s win over the Dragons, referee Ben Cummins made one of the most baffling decisions of all time when he sin-binned Broncos’ Matt Gillett for hauling down Dragons playmaker Benji Marshall in what Cummins deemed to be from an offside position.

However television replays showed that Gillett was not only behind Cummins when Marshall took the quick tap, but the Queensland State of Origin representative retired almost 30 metres before nabbing the New Zealand international.

The incident was labelled by Channel Nine commentator Phil Gould as “the greatest clanger I’ve ever seen”.

But a referee officiating a college gridiron match between Vanderbilt and Temple was not afraid to back-pedal on his own decision when the penalised team proved that he had made the wrong call.

In the footage, referee Ken Williamson docks Vanderbilt a team timeout each quarter “because of ill-stated statements on the jersey” as boos hail down from the stands.

Vanderbilt’s non-traditional jerseys had the team slogan, "Anchor Down," printed on the back in place of players' names.

But Vanderbilt officials were quick to remedy the situation, rushing out emails during the match that stated they had indeed received approval for the changes.

Williamson then returns to field to announce that “the ‘Anchor Down’ statement on the back of the Vanderbilt jersey is legal” and that his previous decision had now been reversed.