Saints vs. Rams To Be Replayed? Formal Complaint, Lawsuit Lodged

The New Orleans Saints season-ticket holders have filed a lawsuit against the National Football Association (NFL). This comes, after the Saints’ loss in the National Football Conference championship game loss against the Los Angeles Rams that was marred in controversy over a failed pass interference call by the official.

The Saints lost the game 26-23 in overtime to the Rams, who booked their first Super Bowl trip since 2001, but the New Orleans franchise could well have been the victors had the official not missed a blatant pass interference committed by Rams’ cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman with just under two minutes to go.

Sean Payton’s team could easily have run the clock down and then made a field goal to ensure they took their place at Super Bowl LIII to face the New England Patriots on Feb. 3. The Saints fans are still not over the injustice and have filed a lawsuit through their attorney Frank D'Amico Jr.

“The impact of the non-call is egregious and demands recourse,” states the lawsuit, filed by attorney D'Amico Jr, as quoted by The New Orleans Advocate.

“As a direct result of the said incident, plaintiffs herein have been left bereft and with no faith in the National Football League for fairness despite the league’s own rules to correct such errors, along with emotional anguish (and) monetary loss for ticket holders, who purchase tickets with the presumption of integrity and fairness.”

The lawsuit has cited an NFL rule - Rule 17, Section 2, Article 1 – that gives the commissioner the power to take “appropriate disciplinary and/or corrective measures” and the Saints supporters are keen for him to exercise the rule and have the final two minutes of the NFC championship game replayed.

"The Commissioner has the sole authority to investigate and take appropriate disciplinary and/or corrective measures if any club action, non-participant interference, or calamity occurs in an NFL game which the Commissioner deems so extraordinarily unfair or outside the accepted tactics encountered in professional football that such action has a major effect on the result of the game,” the rule states.

The fans are not alone in their fight to right a wrong as the governor of Louisiana John Bel Edwards penned a letter to the NFL voicing his displeasure with regards to the officiating during Sunday’s game at the Mercedes-Benz Superdrome.

Edwards urged the commissioner Roger Goodell to take swift action to avoid the integrity of the game to be questioned. He, however, also said that while the people of New Orleans can move past the incident if it stands the way it is, they will never forget it.

"The very least that any fan of the Saints, or any other team, should be able to expect from any game is that the result will be decided by the players on the field," Edwards wrote to the commissioner, as quoted by 4WWL.

"By missing the obvious, blatant, and intentional penalty at the end of the game, the referees in Sunday's game undermined that expectation and unfortunately were allowed to determine the winner.

"I strongly support her efforts. If the NFL fails to act, the very integrity of the game will be called into question -- something that no football fan wants to see," he said referring to Saints owner Gaye Benson’s statement to the NFL.

"...We have overcome setbacks much bigger than a bad call in a football game. We will move past this game, but we will not forget it," he concluded.

The NFL have remained quiet thus far apart from speaking to Saints coach Payton when they accepted that they had “messed up”. It remains highly unlikely that the commissioner will step in and have the game replayed just 10 days before the Super Bowl in Atlanta.