official

An official in Canadian football is a person who has responsibility in enforcing the rules and maintaining the order of the game, like their counterparts in the American game. In the Canadian Football League, seven officials operate on the field. Lower levels of play up to the university level use less than the standard seven. Football officials are commonly, but incorrectly, referred to collectively as referees, but each position has specific duties and a specific name: referee, umpire, head linesman (or down judge), line judge, back judge, side judge, and field judge. Because the referee is responsible for the general supervision of the game, the position is sometimes referred to as head referee or crew chief. The centre judge, used only in the United States in NCAA Division I college football and in the AAF during its single season, has not been used in Canadian football yet; the CFL used an eighth official (with no official position name) only during the 2018 playoffs, but that official's only responsibility was watching for head contact with the quarterback. Equipment Canadian football officials generally use the following equipment: Whistle Used to signal that the play has ended. Penalty Marker or Flag A bright yellow coloured flag that is thrown on the field toward or at the spot of a foul. It is wrapped around a weight, such as sand, beans, or small ball, so it can be thrown with some distance and accuracy. Bean Bag Used to mark various spots that are not fouls. For example, it is used to mark the spot of a fumble or where a player caught a punt. Down Indicator A specially designed wristband that is used to remind officials of the current down. It has an elastic loop attached to it that is wrapped around the fingers. Usually, officials put the loop around their index finger when it is first down, the middle finger when it is second down, and so on. Instead of the custom-designed indicator, some officials use two thick rubber bands tied together as a down indicator: one rubber band is used as the wristband and the other is looped over the fingers. Some officials, especially Umpires, may also use a second indicator to keep track of where the ball was placed between the hash marks before the play (i.e. the right hash marks, the left ones, or at the midpoint between the two).