2009 Southeastern Conference football officiating controversy

The Southeastern Conference 2009 college football season was particularly controversial. Many coaches have complained about the officiating, and the conference has had to alter the punishments for violations of some of the rules.
Games
Alabama-LSU
On November 7, 2009, the LSU Tigers played against the Alabama Crimson Tide, and Alabama won the game, with the final score at 24-15. However, the ruling on the field was confirmed after an official review, and it remained an incomplete pass. for the instant replay official to overturn the call. Tennessee head coach Lane Kiffin believed that Alabama’s Terrence Cody should have been penalized for unsportsmanlike behavior when he took off his helmet and threw it after he blocked a field goal on the last play of the game. This gave Alabama a win, with the final score at 12-10. Michael Slive responded by giving Kiffin a public reprimand, and the Southeastern Conference did not recognize the possible bad call.
Arkansas-Florida
Arkansas played at Florida on October 17, 2009. However, there was no video evidence for this penalty. In the end, Florida won the game 23-20. Tebow had handed the ball off to Jeff Demps and was watching the play when Williams hit him, before the play was over. In an interview, Meyer stated that he believed that there should have been a flag on that play and acknowledged that that was one of the plays that he sent in for review.
After he stated this, Michael Slive announced that Meyer had violated the code of ethics for the Southeastern Conference and that “SEC bylaw 10.5.4 clearly states that the coaches, players, and support personnel shall refrain from public criticism of officials.” This gave Georgia a 13-12 lead with just over a minute left in the game. When Doe crossed the goal line into the end zone for the touchdown, the ball was knocked out of his hand and recovered by wide receiver Brandon McRae. Whether the comment is made by the head coach or by an assistant coach or other personnel involved in the institution’s athletic program, the head coach will receive the penalty. The decision to make the penalty for violations of this bylaw more severe was unanimous among the SEC’s Athletic Directors, and it had the full support of the twelve Presidents and Chancellors in the SEC. He pointed out that his job is to try to do what was best for the conference, and that that is what he is trying to do.<ref name=autogenerated7 />
The Southeastern Conference’s coordinator of officials stated that he did not believe that the officiating in the 2009 season was any worse than in other seasons, but that several incidents received a lot more attention because they were more high profile.<ref nameautogenerated2 /> David Parry, the national coordinator of College Football Officiating, argued that the SEC has some of the best officials and that the officiating is very good; it’s just that the mistakes that have been pointed out this year have greatly affected the game, so these are more memorable mistakes.<ref nameautogenerated7 /> Slive agreed with the idea that the officiating is no worse than usual when he asserted that he has not received more complaints from SEC coaches this year, but he believes that the comments this season were sharper.<ref name=autogenerated7 />
Slive also pointed out that the officials are human and will make mistakes, but that the league will evaluate the officiating program.<ref nameautogenerated11 /> He, along with Rogers Redding, who is the coordinator of officials, and others, are going to meet after the season to talk about the officiating mistakes and make sure the officiating is the best it can be.<ref nameautogenerated7 /> He firmly believes that the Southeastern Conference officials are honest, diligent, and loyal, and that they want the best for the league.<ref name=autogenerated7 />

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