Fan starts petition calling for removal of NFL referee

An Atlanta Falcons fan started a petition this week requesting the ban of NFL official Pete Morelli from calling any more NFL games.

Morelli was part of the crew that called the Falcons’ loss Sunday to the New Orleans Saints in which the Falcons received 10 penalties for 91 yards while the Saints totaled three penalties for 30 yards.

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The petition creator intends to send the signatures to commissioner Roger Goodell and request the removal of Morelli and his crew.

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The petition reads in part:

<i>"As a Falcons fan, I have watched the NFL wrong our franchise for many years but more importantly as a fan of this league I believe that all of us could benefit from the immediate removal of Morelli and every one of his crew members to send a message to NFL officials that corruption within the officiating group will not be tolerated.</i>

<i>"Morelli has some sort of favoritism towards certain teams and has a personal vendetta against others. We have to do something about this to protect the game and to ultimately do away with corruption. If you feel compelled to sign this, I encourage you to do so. We must remove Pete Morelli."</i>

The Change.org petition had more than 3,280 of the original desired 2,500 signatures by Friday afternoon. The goal is now set at 5,000.

Morelli was not the referee during the Steelers-Patriots game where a late Jesse James touchdown was overturned on review. Tony Corrente was the ref on the field for that game.

Cox Media Group