NFL announces ref for Super Bowl

Super Bowl XLVIII could feature the Chiefs, Ravens, Lions or 49ers, but it will certainly have some zebras.

The NFL announced the officiating crew for the Feb. 11 winner-take-all match at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, which will be led by veteran referee Bill Vinovich.

The NFL selects its crew for the Super Bowl based on merit, and while the 63year-old will be working his third championship game, his résumé isn’t without its blemishes.

Vinovich was the referee for the now-infamous 2019 NFC Championship game in which Rams cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman laid an early helmet-to-helmet hit on Tommylee Lewis late in the fourth quarter.

Officials did not penalize the hit and the Rams went on to win in overtime.

The NFL acknowledged the blown non-call and later allowed teams to challenge pass interference calls for the 2020 season.

Vinovich will be joined by umpire Terry Killens, down judge Patrick Holt, line judge Mark Perlman, field judge Tom Hill, side judge Allen Baynes, back judge Brad Freeman and replay official Mike Chase.

For Killens, the assignment also marks a return to the Super Bowl.

The 49-year-old added one tackle to the ledger while playing special teams and backup linebacker for the Titans in a 23-16 loss to the Rams in the big game in 2000.

He’ll become the first person to both play in and officiate a Super Bowl.

The game will also mark the final game for Perlman and Hill, who plan to retire at the end of the season.

It makes the second time in Super Bowl history that multiple officials will retire after an on-field assignment in the big game, per Football Zebras.

The mixed officiating crew comes from a pool of 28 on-field officials who worked the divisional round.