Packers pay as stand-in refs foul up

“I’ve never seen anything like that in all my years in football.”

That was all Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy could bring himself to say late on Monday night after a controversial refereeing decision snatched victory from his side during a dramatic finish in Seattle that could force the end of the protracted dispute between the NFL and its on-field officials.

It came hot on the heels of another disappointing weekend for the league when the excitement of the games was matched by the ineptitude of the lower level referees who have been brought in to replace the more experienced officials, embroiled in a pension dispute with the league.