NFL Super Bowl facing new accusations as Taylor Swift gets dragged into controversy

The brother of ex-NFL senior official Dean Blandino has made the bold claim that the league is rigged in favour of the Kansas City Chiefs, with the aim of attracting Taylor Swift to the Super Bowl.

The Chiefs secured their fifth Super Bowl appearance in six years on Sunday, following a 32-29 victory over the Buffalo Bills at Arrowhead Stadium.

Patrick Mahomes led the Chiefs to victory, throwing for 245 yards and a touchdown, as well as rushing for two scores and 43 yards. The defeat marked a controversial end to the Bills’ season, who have seen their last two campaigns abruptly ended by the Chiefs.

The contentious decision followed two controversial calls in the Chiefs’ Divisional Round win over the Houston Texans, which saw two flags thrown for hits on Chiefs quarterback Mahomes.

These decisions sparked outrage among fans online, while the league office refrained from issuing fines.

As Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans approaches, the dominant narrative revolves around allegations of officials favouring the reigning champions, the Chiefs.

FOX Sports rules analyst and former NFL senior vice president of officiating Blandino, who designed and developed the current replay system, disclosed that his brother believes the games are manipulated in favour of the Chiefs to boost Super Bowl viewership, given that Kelce’s girlfriend, Swift, is expected to attend.

“(He says) the league is rigged and that I can’t say anything about it,” Blandino remarked during his interview on SiriusXM Radio. “My brother is like: ‘They want Taylor Swift at the Super Bowl.’ 150 million people are gonna watch the Super Bowl regardless of Taylor Swift being there. Like enough, stop.”

In response to statistics from NFL analyst Warren Sharp which suggested that the Chiefs have faced fewer penalties in playoffs, Blandino refuted claims of bias by recalling the scrutiny Tom Brady and the New England Patriots faced during their dominant period.

“The Chiefs have gotten the benefit of calls, but good teams make their own breaks. You think about the Patriots,” he replied.

“I said, ‘Listen, there’s no conspiracy. The officials, there’s too many variables, there’s too much going on.’ To me, it’s the hardest sport – when you think about football with seven different officials, to say, ‘OK, I’m gonna rig this game,’ or the game is rigged from the league office down. The officials are just trying to get it right.

“You can’t tell me that the Chiefs have seven straight AFC Championship games, they’re going to play for the three-peat. They’re playing four Super Bowls in six years, that it’s just because of the officiating. They’re a good team and they make their own breaks.

“Yes, have they gotten the benefit of calls? Sure. Other teams get benefits of calls. I just think right now the narrative is so out there that any time any close call goes for the Chiefs, it’s, ‘Oh, here we go again. Here we go again.’ And I’m sure Super Bowl Sunday, we’re going to hear it for the next two weeks.”

The controversy continues to swirl following a contentious decision in Super Bowl LVII, where a late call against the Philadelphia Eagles paved the way for the Chiefs to secure a 38-35 win with a decisive field goal.

As the Chiefs gear up to face the Eagles once more in Super Bowl LIX on Sunday, February 9, the debate over officiating and its impact on the game remains heated.