Refs Suspended Due to "T's"

[rulesmaven]

You sort of wonder whether Clougherty was more reacting to the crew's officiating of the game as a whole, and the possibility that other mistakes were made, but decided rather than calling his officials out for numerous mistakes, he would give them the face saving out of basing it on one particular act.

Pure conjecture, of course. There was a lot of serious discussion about the officiating of that game from corners that I generally take seriously, and apparently, according to one report, Clougherty had a post game review with the officials. Would it be completely out of bounds, if he said, in private, that he saw some deficiencies that justified a one game suspension, but was willing to blame it on a single event to help the crew save a little face?

Seems the only rationale explanation, because the t call itself, while perhaps questionable, really seems like an awful thin pillar on which to support a suspension.