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We had that happen
just last week.
The Lineman was engaged in a block and in the expanded neutral zone. The QB threw the ball as he was being hit. The ball hit the lineman in THE BACK OF THE HELMET.
I threw a flag for the illegal touching. It was waved off by my referee because the "illegal touching" was behind the expanded NZ and was unintentional.
If the lineman had intentionally batted it, it would've been the 5 yard penalty and a loss of down. If the passer intentionally hit the lineman it could've been ruled grounding.
The ref showed me the rule:
7-13
An ineligible A player bats, muffs or catches a forward pass while in or behind the neutral zone prior to the pass being touched by B.
The wording of this rule suggests that the touching would have to be an attempt by an ineligible to actually catch or bat the pass. This lineman did neither, so we waved it.
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Snrmike
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