By Madhuri Dey
Oct.22 (THAINDIAN NEWS) SEC, or the Southeastern Conference have suspended it’s crew from officiating in games. The suspension order followed a public reprimand, a rare case. The decree will come into effect on October 31, which was the crew’s next officiating program. The crew will not be allowed to officiate till the fourteenth of November.

According to Mike Slaver, the commissioner of the Southeastern Conference, the committee had to be pulled back from action due to their conduct during a number of matches held over the last few days. He stresses that their’s is the best officiating crew in the country. However, he admits, that at times it is necessary to take strict measures if things go out of hand.

The currently suspended crew, led by referee Marc Curles, had made a number of calls in the last few matches that were unaccounted for. In the Arkansas-Florida game, the Gators were aiming towards a 23-22 win. It was during this match that Referee Marc Curles called a foul, that too a personal one, on Malcolm Sheppard, the defensive lineman of the Arkansas team. It happened in the fourth quarter of the game. It was clearly unnecessary, and moreover, there was no video footage as evidence for his justification. This was not the first offense of the crew. They had also unfairly penalized the receiver of Bulldogs, A.J. Green, in a previous match, because he had celebrated excessively after scoring a touchdown.

According to Charles Bloom, the associate commissioner of Southeastern Conference, this is the first instance in the history of the league to have suspended a football crew. They assure that it will remain a rare case.