Bad call in Bombers' loss devastating for fans, Obby Khan says

A terrible call may have cost the Bombers a game against Calgary on Friday and may even hurt attendance at the next home game, a former player for the Bombers says.

The Bombers were trailing Calgary by a few points with about a minute to play when an official called an illegal procedure penalty against Winnipeg. Instead of having a first down at the Calgary 35-yard line, the Blue and Gold were left with a third down attempt at the Calgary 42-yard line.

The Bombers lost 25 to 23.

Obby Khan, a former centre for the Bombers, said he was "devastated" by the call.

"I wasn't so much as devastated as I think a lot of the fans who were watching the game, but I actually met two players after the game and they were just shocked, just pissed right off," Khan said.

"In my 10 years of playing I tried not to say bad things about officials, but now that I'm not playing I can kind of say what I want, and that [was] terrible."

Official disciplined

The CFL released a statement Saturday following a review of the play. The league acknowledged the official made the wrong call and that it had a "significant impact on the game." They added the official will be disciplined.

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​Khan said he's happy the league stepped up and acknowledged the error, but added that it is of little consolation to the team and fans who were sent home with another loss.

 "I've had those calls happen in the first quarter, second quarter, and the ref … gives you a couple warnings, always — I've never seen an official throw that flag without saying 'Hey Obby, you've got to get up a little bit,'" Khan said.

"I was shocked when they threw that flag and it essentially cost the Bombers an opportunity to make a field goal and send it to overtime."

Khan thinks the referee should be fined and suspended.

"I think it would be all right with fans and players—people on both sides of the ball—if they didn't let this official come back for the rest of the year until he gets some more training done," he said, adding Calgary players told him they, too, were surprised by the call.

"It was a wrong call and it should've never happened, but it did happen, and because of that the Bombers are down another loss."

Khan said he worries the loss and poor call could hurt attendance numbers at the Bombers' next home game.

"Some fans realize that they played a really close game, that the Bombers were competing and had a really good opportunity to beat the No. 1 team in the CFL — but fans won't remember that," he said.

"Are fans going to say, 'Hey, we almost beat the No. 1 team' or are they going to say, 'Hey, we lost again.'"

Khan said the league may have to revisit its rules on what plays can be challenged and when.

"You can't challenge every single play on the field … but maybe they have to look at that and say maybe we need to make every single call challengeable if it has this impact on a game," he said, adding he hopes the league will use the issue to grow. 

"Maybe this is something that will make the league better."