National Post

CFL CUTTING DOWN ON VIDEO CHALLENGES.

- Ted Wyman

Say this for new CFL commission­er Randy Ambrosie: he is proving to be a man of his word and of swift and decisive action.

With f an displeasur­e mounting over the use of challenge flags by coaches this season, Ambrosie promised last weekend he would look at making changes to the league’s video review system.

He made good on that vow Wednesday as t he league announced it will immediatel­y limit coaches to one challenge per game, down from two.

“Fans have been very clear with me that they want a change,” Ambrosie said. “We are delivering that change.”

It’s a significan­t in-season correction, which will force coaches to be much more selective in the way they use challenge flags and should eliminate any frivolous attempts to draw penalties. Coaches may want to hold onto their challenges for late-game situations.

The change will take effect when Week 7 games get underway Thursday night with Toronto hosting the Calgary Stampeders.

“We have a super game,” Ambrosie said. “Our elite athletes are treating us this year to i ncredible plays, close contests and even miracle comebacks. Scoring is up, penalties are down, and games are shorter. The last thing we want to have in place is an artificial impediment to our fans’ enjoyment of it all.

“Video review, unfortunat­ely, has become just that. It was put in place to fix egregious and indisputab­le mistakes that could affect the outcome of a game. It’s not being used that way now. Too many challenges and reviews are interrupti­ng the game. Coaches, understand­ably since they are under pressure to win, have been using it to try to gain an advantage.”

All scoring plays and turnovers will still be reviewed by the command centre, but limiting coaches challenges should improve the flow of the game while still allowing an opportunit­y to prevent the most glaring errors by officials.

“It wasn’t but a short time ago that we didn’t have any challenges,” Winnipeg Blue Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea said.

“We’re still one better. We still have the opportunit­y to challenge a big play that can make a difference.

“The belief is this is going to make it a better fan experience and a better game. It would be good to have more flow in the game. It really would.”

It’s the second straight year the CFL has made a significan­t change to its rules regarding coaches’ challenges in the middle of the season.

Last season, the league also responded in-season by making teams burn a timeout every time a coach made an unsuccessf­ul challenge.

That move did reduce the number of challenge flags over the remainder of the season, but it was clearly not enough.

There have been many challenges and video reviews this season that have raised the ire of the fan base, perhaps most notably a pass interferen­ce call against the B.C. Lions in the end zone last Friday that helped the Edmonton Eskimos to their fifth straight win. Fans on social media were irate after the command centre ruled pass interferen­ce against the Lions following a challenge by Eskimos coach Jason Maas.

“This was a problem that needed solving and ultimately we’ve found a very elegant solution, a mid-course correction that can allow us to focus on letting the talent on the field decide the outcome of the game,” Ambrosie said,

Coaches have been using challenge flags in desperatio­n at times, looking for illegal contact away from the play or roughing the passer when none is apparent at first glance.

“I threw a flag this year that I knew was going to be a tough one to win,” O’Shea said. “It happens.”

While fans should be celebratin­g the excitement of the games, complaints about officiatin­g and the life-sucking coaches challenges are all-too frequent.

That should change now and while there are still serious issues with officiatin­g as a whole, you have to give the league credit for recognizin­g a problem and dealing with it quickly.

“We thought, if we’re going to do a mid- course correction, let’s make a simple and meaningful change that will have a very positive effect on our game,” Ambrosie said.

“We thought this was the right one and we had unanimous support for that.”

The commission­er said a full and complete review of the league’s challenge flag and replay/command centre strategy will take place at the end of the year.

He said all options will be on the table.

“We owe it to our fans and our partners to look at this thoroughly at year’s end to see if a change in philosophy is appropriat­e,” Ambrosie said. “At its core, the original intent and philosophy was you didn’t want a game to be decided by a significan­t mistake made on the field by one of our officials that would change the outcome of a game and especially the big games.

“At the end of the day, if we can’t find the right way to use it, then all options should be on the table, including not using it at all.”

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 ?? DARRYL DYCK / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES ?? B.C.’s Wally Buono and fellow CFL head coaches will be limited to one challenge per game, down from two, effective for this week’s games. Coaches had been using challenge flags in desperatio­n throughout the young season.
DARRYL DYCK / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES B.C.’s Wally Buono and fellow CFL head coaches will be limited to one challenge per game, down from two, effective for this week’s games. Coaches had been using challenge flags in desperatio­n throughout the young season.

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