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Petition for Saints-Rams rematch reaches 500K signatures

Posted at 6:43 AM, Jan 22, 2019
and last updated 2019-01-22 09:23:56-05

A petition started on Sunday calling for a rematch between the Saints and Rams has reached over 500,000 signatures on Tuesday.

The petition on Change.org, calls on NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to use his authority to call a rematch between the two teams after Sunday’s game. The petition began in response to a missed pass interference call on Nickell Robey-Coleman in the final minutes of the fourth quarter. Robey-Coleman slammed into Saints’ wide receiver Tommylee Lewis before Brees’ pass could arrive and even admitted to the interference after the game.

Saints fans and supporters say the missed call caused the Saints the NFC Championship and a second appearance in a Super Bowl.

Many have called Goodell to use his authority as NFL Commissioner and a little known NFL Rule 17 to reverse the outcome of the game or call a rematch. The rule, which contains three sections, outlines the authority of the commissioner in the case of “Extraordinarily Unfair Acts.”

Many are skeptical that Goodell would even consider making the decision to review the game and call a rematch.

While the rule does give the commissioner the ability to make game-altering decisions in the event of a “calamity” or “extraordinarily unfair action,” Article 2 of the rule states that the “Commissioner will not apply his authority in cases of complaints by clubs concerning judgmental errors or routine errors by omission by game officials. Games involving such complaints will continue as completed.”

Supporters of the petition can click here to sign.

While the NFL has said that the referees did, in fact, miss the call, there has been no comment from Goodell on the petition or his thoughts on game’s outcome.

Saints’ owner Gayle Benson released a statement on Monday in response to the outcome of the game. Benson thanks the fans for their support during the entire season saying, “we truly have the most inspiring, committed and passionate fans in all of professional sports.”

Read her full statement here.