NFL fines Matthews $12,500 for tweet criticizing officials
The NFL fined Los Angeles Rams pass-rusher Clay Matthews $12,500 for a tweet that was critical of league officials, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.
The storyline for the 2019 season continues to be the refs inability to make the accurate and correct calls week in and week out. Al Riveron continues to blindly side with his refs and the current status quo. Something must change! Zero accountability. ...#throughthewire
— Clay Matthews III (@ClayMatthews52) October 15, 2019
Matthews, who is on injured reserve with a broken jaw he suffered in Week 5, took to Twitter to air his grievances shortly after a particularly controversial Monday Night Football game, in which the Green Bay Packers came back to beat the Detroit Lions.
The contest featured a pair of illegal-hands-to-the-face penalties against Lions defensive end Trey Flowers in the fourth quarter, both coming on unsuccessful third-down plays to keep Green Bay's drives alive. The first led to a touchdown pass that pulled the Packers within a score, and the second yielded a first down that allowed them to run out the clock before kicking the game-winning field goal.
NFL vice president of operations Troy Vincent admitted Tuesday that an error was made regarding the second of the two penalties on Flowers.
"After you review it, the foul wasn't there," Vincent said.