Top NFL Referee Calls Utah Holding Penalty an “Obvious Foul”

Utah Athletic Director Mark Harlan’s comments caught national attention after he said Utah had the game “stolen” from them due to a holding penalty called on Utah on the final drive.

Utah Athletic Director Mark Harlan Post Game pic.twitter.com/eKjy4PpedU — Elijah Grayson Murray (@elijahgmurray) November 10, 2024

The Big 12 and Commissioner Brett Yormark issued a stern reprimand Sunday and fined Harlan $40,000 for his comments.

Big 12’s statement on Utah AD Mark Harlan’s public reprimand & $40,000 fine for criticizing officials after BYU loss pic.twitter.com/9XC7dgjaw2 — Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) November 10, 2024

BYU won the game 22-21, but Utah and BYU fans are unsurprisingly taking sides on whether or not the holding call was actually a penalty.

One prominent voice weighed in, and he believes the referees got it right. Terry McAulay was a NFL referee from 1998-2017. He was the referee for seven conference championship games and three Super Bowls. He is currently NBC’s rules analyst for Sunday Night Football and Notre Dame’s football games; he joined Amazon’s Thursday Night Football crew in 2022. Collegiately, he was a referee in the 1998 BCS National Title game and was the Coordinator of Football Officials for the Big East and AAC from 2008-2017. Simply put, he is one of the best referees in the world.

McAulay watched different angles and called the holding penalty an “obvious foul.” He went on to double down on this take and called out Mark Harlan.

“It’s a foul. It’s always been a foul and it will always be a foul regardless of game, time, score, or situation. The embarrassing and shameless on-field actions and press conference rant of the Utah AD should result in severe consequences. His behavior was despicable.”

It’s a foul. It’s always been a foul and it will always be a foul regardless of game, time, score, or situation.

The embarrassing and shameless on-field actions and press conference rant of the Utah AD should result in severe consequences. His behavior was despicable. https://t.co/J7MUVNm7Ez — Terry McAulay (@tjmcaulay) November 10, 2024

Best angle yet. Obvious foul. https://t.co/GVR2od7DZ1 — Terry McAulay (@tjmcaulay) November 10, 2024

So as you’re sitting around with Utah fans in the office this week, you can simply show them the explanation from one of the top rules experts in football and have them live in their emotional bubble if they disagree. The expert witness came to the stand and closed the case.

Click here to read article