CFL proposes video review for pass interference, recommends new rules for 2014

TORONTO – Pass interference should be subject to video review during the upcoming CFL season, the league’s rules committee announced Thursday.

A proposal approved by the committee says coaches would be allowed to challenge both called and potential defensive pass interference fouls under certain conditions.

The move, still subject to final approval by the league’s board of governors who meets later this spring, would make the CFL the first football league to subject the penalty to video review.

“Pass interference is one of the toughest calls to make,” said Glen Johnson, the CFL’s vice-president of officiating. “This gives us a second opportunity to get it right on a penalty that can have a great impact on a game.”

The committee also voted in favour of expanding the role of the league’s command centre to automatically review specific turnovers of fumbles lost and interceptions and detect illegal participation during a play.

It approved a number of changes designed to further protect the safety of players, including eliminating low blocks below the waist, and clarifying the rules of illegal blows to an opponent’s neck or head.

The committee also approved rule changes aimed at scoring and improving the flow of the game, such as allowing quarterbacks for each team to use their own team supplied Wilson footballs, provided they have met the “new ball” quality standard established by the league.