A Statement from Canadian Football League Chief Operating Officer Michael Copeland
September 8, 2009 - Canadian Football League (CFL) News Release
As you may know, the Montreal Alouettes filed an official protest following their game last Friday September 4th versus the British Columbia Lions, specifically concerning events late in the contest. Several media have inquired about the process. We are reviewing the events cited by the Alouettes very carefully, speaking with all of the officials involved, including the on-field crew, the Supervisor and the Replay Official. This review was launched over the weekend by our Director of Officiating and is now being carried on by me and the Commissioner. As stipulated by our by-laws, for a protest to be upheld, there must be evidence a game official intentionally misinterpreted or misapplied a playing rule. While we all share the view that a ruling needs to be made promptly, our main responsibility is to ensure our view is complete and thorough. We take this responsibility very seriously. Here is an excerpt from our by-laws, dealing with game protests.
SECTION 2 - GAME PROTESTS
1. If a member Club, knowing a player is ineligible under the Constitution, By-laws or Rules and Regulations of the League, permits said player to participate in a game or if a game official intentionally misinterprets or misapplies a playing rule, which participation or misinterpretation or misapplication could reasonably have affected the result of the game, a protest against the result may be made.
2. A protest must be made to the Commissioner in writing, outlining the grounds of protest, signed by the protesting Club's president or secretary, within seventy-two hours of the advertised time of the match protested, and must be accompanied by a deposit of $5,000.00 which sum shall be forfeited to the League should the Commissioner disallow the protest.
3. The Commissioner, on receipt of a protest, shall immediately notify the opposing Club of the protest and of the grounds therefore.
4. The Commissioner shall make such investigation of the matters concerned in the protest as shall be necessary and shall rule on the protest promptly. In so ruling, the Commissioner will have the following option:
(a) disclaim the protest, or
(b) allow the protest and award the game to either of the Clubs or order the game to be replayed in whole or in part or recommend that disciplinary action be taken by the Board of Governors under the provisions of 8.06(a) of the Constitution.
Canadian Football League Stories from September 8, 2009
- Blue Bombers Add Bramlet To Practice Roster - Winnipeg Blue Bombers
- A Statement from Canadian Football League Chief Operating Officer Michael Copeland - CFL
- Lions add linebacker Shane Simmons - B.C. Lions
- Argos Take On Ticats In September 11 Retro Game - Toronto Argonauts
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
