KC Chiefs Have Familiar Referee for Super Bowl LVIII vs. San Francisco 49ers

It's not only a rematch of Super Bowl LIV, but it's featuring a familiar face leading the refereeing crew.

There are plenty of storylines for the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl LVIII game against the San Francisco 49ers in Las Vegas. One of them is the rematch of Super Bowl LIV from 2020, but there's even more to that than some may notice on the surface.

Another similarity in the rematch is that the game's lead official will be the same. Bill Vinovich is the head referee for this year's meeting, just like he was four years ago. 

The NFL has chosen Bill Vinovich to referee the Super Bowl between KC & SF. Vinovich also refereed the last Super Bowl between these two teams in 2020. His crew let the two teams play that day, calling only nine penalties for 69 yards in a game won by the Chiefs.

— Rick Gosselin (@RickGosselin9) January 30, 2024

Vinovich, 63, is no stranger to working Chiefs games. In fact, he's been on the staff for 22 Kansas City matchups dating back to September of 2002 in either side judge or referee capacities. Most recently, he led the crew in the 2022 campaign's Week 4 Chiefs vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers game. The Chiefs are 5-2 in the last five years with Vinovich serving as the top ref in a game of theirs. This will be the third Super Bowl he's worked in his career.

The selection of Vinovich hasn't come without any criticism. For starters, he was the referee during the 2019 NFC Championship Game that contained a controversial no-call on a helmet-to-helmet hit by Nickell Robey-Coleman. From a San Francisco-specific perspective, he also had a couple of disputable moments on an offensive pass interference flag and a potential missed hold call in Super Bowl LIV. That's got some 49ers fans riled up.

As Gosselin mentioned in the tweet above, Vinovich's crew called nine penalties for 69 yards in the last Chiefs-49ers championship battle. During the 2023 regular season, Kansas City and San Francisco ranked 19th and 11th, respectively, in most enforced penalties. In yardage, though, they were 15th and sixth. 

The full Super Bowl LVII officiating crew goes well beyond Vinovich. Per NFL Football Operations, the judge group consists of Patrick Holt (down judge), Mark Perlman (line judge), Tom Hill (field judge), Allen Baynes (side judge) and Brad Freeman (back judge). Of those five, Perlman and Hill have Super Bowl experience. Mike Chase, the game's designated replay official, also does as he worked Super Bowl LIV in the same game as Vinovich. Terry Killens, a former player, is the game's scheduled umpire. 

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