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After the Pittsburgh Steelers' narrow win over the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football, NFL referee Tony Corrente was a big talking point.
Corrente made a questionable game-defining taunting call during the fourth quarter between the Bears and the Steelers. The penalty was decisive for the final score, as the Steelers were able to get a field goal due to it instead of punting the ball back to the Bears. They won the game on the next drive with another field goal.
Had Corrente not called flagged Bears linebacker Cassius Marsh for taunting, the Steelers would've needed a touchdown to secure the win in the final minute of the game.
NFL referee Tony Corrente under fire after an outrageous taunting call
As evident in the video below, Marsh was at least three yards away from the closest Steelers player after the play. Corrente still flagged him for taunting - and, as you can see, Pittsburgh sent their punt unit to the field after a sack to Ben Roethlisberger.
The NFL has made taunting a point of emphasis this season, but this call seems a bit too egregious. Marsh was distant from any other Steelers player, and he did nothing but look at their sidelines. It's an outrageous taunting call by Corrente.
Even worse, you can see right when Marsh is going back, Corrente hip-checked Marsh before spectacularly throwing the flag. Just an all-around weird scene that contributed to the final score.
Who is Tony Corrente?
Tony Corrente has been an NFL referee since the 1995 season. He's 69 years old and also was the referee during Super Bowl XL.
Corrente also worked as a social sciences teacher until retiring from the position in 2011 and focusing solely on being an NFL referee. He was the Pac-12 Conference's Coordinator of Football Officiating from 2011 to 2014.
During the 2011 NFL season, Corrente battled throat cancer and went through treatment for seven weeks, staying inactive for Weeks 13-15. He returned to referee an NFC wild-card playoff game.
Corrente was also the referee of the 2014 NFC Championship Game between the Seattle Seahawks and the Green Bay Packers. He also was present in the NFC wild-card matchup between the Chicago Bears and the Philadelphia Eagles in 2018, known as the double-doink game.
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