Dear CFL

First, let's establish that, yes, I am a disgruntled Rider fan, yes, I am angry that they lost yesterday, yes, I am disappointed that I can count on two fingers how many times the defense pressured Kevin Glenn, yes, I am shocked at Kerry Joseph's performance, yes, I am dismayed at how easily the Bomber offense navigated an effortless running and passing game around one of the best defenses in the CFL (if not the best), and yes, I hate the Bombers with a passion.

Now that we have established that, I would like to move forward with my motion: either a full investigation into the refereeing of yesterday's game should be made or the CFL commissioner should step down. The atrocious game calling was either a result of incessant make-up calls stemming from the apparent Dominguez no-call from the Labour day game or the refs had made some rather large bets with bookies before or during the game.

Four incidents come to mind where either marginal rape or extreme rape occurred. A phantom offensive pass interference penalty that negated a large Rider gain (even Blair, a Bomber fan, was mystified), a 3 step catch and fumble called incomplete by Fantuz that negated a large Rider gain, a Bomber challenge that failed to produce conclusive evidence of the ball hitting the turf but still won to negate a large Rider gain, and finally, the most ridiculous reviewed play ever that negated the Rider retaining possession after an on-side kick.

The latter mentioned call involved Jake Ireland being able to determine through instant replay that a Rider player and Bomber player simultaneously touched the ball last before it went out of bounds. Wow, those replay cameras must be mega high definition. Horse shit. I mean, to overturn the call on the field, he would have had to be 100% certain that they both touched the ball at the same time. How could he have done this? He couldn't. And therefore, the play on the field should have stood. And why didn't the fact that the ball hit the Rider helmet, as could be seen by anyone who isn't clearly senile or bias, come into the final decision? Absolute horse shit.

You know, maybe we can learn something from European soccer here. Last month, a brutal refereeing decision was made by one Rob Stiles in awarding a penalty kick to Chelsea against Liverpool. Sure, this decision drastically determined the outcome of the game whereas the Riders would surely still have lost if the aforementioned call had been made correctly, but shouldn't principal matter? The principal is this: refs are accountable too. To whom? To the league, to the teams, to the fans. Rob Stiles was demoted and reprimanded for his mistake and understandably so. This works to ensure the highest level of performance, execution, decision making, etc. from the referees.

There will be no talk of Jake Ireland being reprimanded or questioned for his poor performance. That will only change once we demand it. So here I am, demanding it. Let the door hit him on the way out at least as hard as he slapped my and all other Rider fans across the face yesterday.