GSFO officials will work in Montreal
The Granite State Football Officials have been selected to officiate an Independent Women's Football League (IWFL) semifinal game in Montreal on June 27. The contest will feature the top-seeded Montreal Blitz against the eighth-seeded Manchester Freedom.
"We weren't surprised to get a playoff assignment," GSFO president Bert Lawlor said. "This is our sixth season working IWFL games and we did the Eastern Conference Division I semifinal two seasons ago in a nationally televised game (Atlanta vs. Boston). The surprising thing was to be assigned to a game in Canada that features the Manchester Freedom -- a team that we contract with to work all of their home games. It feels a bit like when the Harlem Globetrotters arrive in town with their own refs on the bus."
The IWFL office has received numerous complaints from visiting teams regarding the officiating in Montreal. Many of the officials speak only French and are used to officiating games with Canadian Football League rules rather than the modified NFL rules that the IWFL uses. The Blitz is the only Canadian-based women's team that does not play by CFL rules.
"I would never bad-mouth a fellow official, whether they are from Texas, Canada or Germany," Lawlor said. "The Montreal Blitz play with rules that these officials just do not have enough game experience with. Ninety-nine-point-five percent of the games they work are with CFL rules, so there have been some interesting calls -- or non-calls -- made by these officials."
Lawlor will be the referee for the officiating crew in Montreal that will feature Andre Arel, Mark Liss, Brian Williams, Dave Dickson, Tim Begley, Brian Williams and alternate official Neal Vogler. Jim Lally will serve as the official timer.
"We've had teams from Rhode Island, Maine and Medway (Mass.) contact us in years past to travel and work their home games," Lawlor said. "We have a pretty solid reputation. I think much of that comes from when coaches watch gametape and see the calls we've made and why we've made them."
