CFL Grey Cup ref makes rookie mistake at coin toss
The 111th Grey Cup of the Canadian Football League had a peculiar start during the coin toss on Sunday night. Head referee Ben Major welcomed the captains of the Toronto Argonauts and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers to midfield. He showed the players which side was heads and which side was tails and handed the coin to Coinbase Canada CEO Lucas Matheson to flip it.
However, as the coin was in the air, Major realized he forgot to ask the Argonauts what their call was. In a moment of panic, he stopped Matheson’s toss and exclaimed, “Check, check. I have to ask, what do you want? Alright, Toronto. Toronto, you’re the visiting team. What’s your choice?” Argonauts wide receiver DaVaris Daniels then made the call of heads, and the coin toss proceeded smoothly from there.
Toronto ended up winning the Grey Cup, with backup quarterback Nick Arbuckle leading the team to victory. Arbuckle came in for injured starter Chad Kelly and threw for 252 yards and two second-half touchdown passes. “You couldn’t script this,” Arbuckle said after the game. “If everybody was to know everything, all the things we overcame as a family, from my whole life and football career to be here, it’s God’s work.”
Arbuckle was named the outstanding player of the game as Toronto secured their 19th Grey Cup title, a CFL record. The final score was 41-24 over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. It was a storybook ending for the Argonauts, capping off a season filled with challenges and perseverance.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Ryan Gaydos is a senior editor for Fox News Digital. Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on Twitter and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
