For the first time in the Super Bowl era, the NFL has fired a referee in the middle of the season. The league reportedly fired down judge Hugo Cruz, who missed a blatant false start call earlier in the season, on Thursday.
According to Football Zebras, Cruz was fired by the NFL a couple weeks after he missed a blatant false start by Los Angeles Chargers offensive tackle Russell Okung. Cruz, who was right by the play, missed the call and it led to the Chargers scoring a touchdown on the same play.
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According to Pro Football Reference, Cruz has worked in the NFL for four seasons. He served as a head linesman in 2015 and 2016 then he became a down judge in 2017. His last game in the NFL was the Chargers-Browns game in Week 6.