Steelers’ Diontae Johnson fined $25,000 for claiming referees ‘must have been PAID’ in loss to Jacksonville
Johnson grew frustrated with an offside call on a field goal in their 20-10 defeat
Jacksonville’s Adam Gotsis was also fined for a hit that was not called on the field
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Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson has been fined $25,000 for sounding off on referees after their recent loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars on October 29, per ESPN.
Johnson, 27, was not included in the list of fines in the weekly game-day accountability report released on Saturday. However, ProFootballTalk.com reported that he was added after he questioned the officials’ integrity following the 20-10 defeat against the Jaguars.
‘I didn’t like the refs today,’ he said after the game. ‘They must’ve got paid good today or something… they was calling some stupid stuff.
‘They wanted (the Jaguars) to win… everything was in their favor. They were getting every little call.
‘They should get fined for calling bad, making worse, terrible calls and stuff like that. That’s how p****d I am. They cost us the game. I don’t care what nobody say. They cost us the game.’
Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson was fined $25,000 for his comments about officials
Johnson was particularly upset about the inconsistency in roughing the passer calls.
Pittsburgh safety Keanu Neal was called for roughing the passer following a hit on Trevor Lawrence early in the first quarter. However, Jacksonville’s defensive end Adam Gotsis was not flagged for a hit that resulted in Steelers quarterback Kenny Picket sitting out in the second half with a rib injury.
Gotsis was later fined $7,167 while Neal was not fined for his hit on Lawrence. Steelers linebacker TJ Watt was also fined $16,391 for a hit on Lawrence in the first quarter that was not flagged during the game.
Officials also flagged an offside call on Pittsburgh right side guard Isaac Seumalo that would have cut the Jaguars’ lead at the half. The officials whistled Seumalo who lined up in the neutral zone, negating a 55-yard field goal by Chris Boswell.
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin later said that he had never seen an that kind of offside call in his 17-year career.
‘Refs were just killing us the whole game,’ Johnson said. ‘The same refs we had at training camp. I didn’t like the refs today.
‘At the end of the day, we can’t keep complaining about the refs. Like Coach say, we can’t worry about the refs, whatever. But everybody’s different.’
TJ Watt was also fined $16,391 for a hit on Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence in the first quarter
Both NFL senior vice president of officiating Walt Anderson and referee Alan Eck have commented on the call since.
‘Whether players are called for offsides, that’s the judgment that’s made on the field,’ Anderson said.
‘It was a judgment call,’ according to Eck. ‘It was obvious on the field, so we went ahead and called it.’
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