Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs have been accused of receiving preferential treatment from NFL officials. (Getty Images: Cooper Neill)
The Kansas City Chiefs are one win away from becoming the first team to win three consecutive Super Bowls — a feat that will take many of their already legendary players into the stratosphere of all-time greats.
However, their achievements on the field are being soured by suggestions they have been favoured by NFL referees. Conspiracy theories have been amplified online, where there is a storm of accusations that the fix is in for Kansas City to win.
The online uproar has been so loud that Chiefs players have been confronted with it and the head of the NFL has commented on the saga.
ABC Sport will provide live blog coverage of Super Bowl LIX, including the half-time show by Kendrick Lamar, on Monday, February 10 from 9am AEDT.
As the controversy continues to hover in the lead-up to Super Bowl LIX, here is what you need to know about the Chiefs-refs conspiracy.
Why do fans claim the Chiefs are favoured by the NFL refs?
This regular season the Chiefs won 15 games and lost just two, but six of those wins were by seven points or fewer.
Some of those games seemed outrageous, with the team blocking a potential game-winning field goal against the Broncos, and being saved against Baltimore when the receiver claiming the would-be game-winning touchdown put a toe out of bounds during the catch.
But this post-season there have been two decisions that have had fans fired up.
Leading 13-12 over the Houston Texans in the third quarter, Mahomes elected to run the ball and then slide down with two defenders converging on him.
The Houston defenders' helmets clashed and Mahomes appeared to avoid most of the contact.
But the refs penalised the Texans for unnecessary roughness, which had fans and even commentator Troy Aikman, an NFL Hall of Fame quarterback, furious.
"Oh, come on," Aikman said during his commentary for broadcaster ESPN.
"He's a runner. I could not disagree with that one more. He barely gets hit.
"He's trying to draw the penalty. Rather than just run out of bounds, he slows down and that's been the frustration and I understand it."
Texans defensive end Will Anderson, who also was penalised for hitting Mahomes in that game when many thought it was legal, flat-out said that the refs were against them.
"We knew it was going to be us versus the refs going into this game," Anderson said.
"These things are tough. I'm not going to go back and forth on what I thought was a call or what I thought wasn't a call.
"It's one of those things where you know what's up before you even walk in their arena, and we've got to be better at being accountable and sound."
Then the online outrage went into overdrive during the AFC Championship game less than a fortnight ago.
The Buffalo Bills were driving in the fourth quarter with a 22-21 lead.
They faced a 4th and inches and put the ball in the hands of their quarterback Josh Allen.
Needing just inches to make the line to gain and a fresh set of downs, the officials ruled that Allen was stopped short by the Chiefs' defence, leading to a change of possession.
Manly felt Allen had got the ball to the line to gain and the Bills should have continued their drive, having a chance to extend their lead.
The Chiefs would go on to win the game by three points in a nailbiter.
Crucial calls for Kansas City are not restricted to this season
Since Patrick Mahomes became the starting quarterback of the Kansas City Chiefs, they have become a winning machine.
They have participated in the past seven AFC Championship games and come Monday will have been part of five of the previous six Super Bowls.
They have won three Super Bowls in this era, including the previous two.
But they have enjoyed their fair share of luck along the way.
Fans of the San Francisco 49ers fumed in the 2020 Super Bowl when pass rusher Nick Bosa appeared to be held, preventing him from sacking Mahomes in the fourth quarter.
Mahomes completed the 44-yard pass to Tyreek Hill on 3rd and 15, when the Chiefs were trailing 20-10 in the final quarter. Had a penalty been called, the Chiefs may not have had another chance to begin the comeback.
And fans of the Philadelphia Eagles were outraged late in their Super Bowl loss to the Chiefs two years ago when defensive back James Bradberry was called for pass interference against JuJu Smith-Schuster.
The penalty allowed the Chiefs to run down the clock and then kick the game-winning field goal. Bradberry said after the match he believed he did commit the foul, but that did not quell the narrative online.
Have the Chiefs always been on the right side of the refs?
Short answer, no.
In the first year with Mahomes as the starting QB, which ended with an AFC Championship game loss to Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, Kansas City was the most penalised team in the league.
Since then they have been essentially on the league average for times penalised and being the beneficiary of penalties.
However, in the 20 play-off games they have played since the 2018 season, the Chiefs have been on the nice list with the refs.
Of those 20 play-off games, only three times have the Chiefs been penalised more yards than their opponents, and just once in the past 12.
But while it is easy to claim the Chiefs are favoured, it should be remembered that the whole point of the game is not to concede penalties.
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid is one of the very best in the league and his skill could well mean his men are disciplined in the most crucial moments.
Players have been questioned about the alleged preferential treatment
Unfortunately for the Chiefs, they have been confronted with the conspiracy.
During an official media day ahead of the Super Bowl, Boston radio show host Rich Shertenlieb, with tongue firmly in his cheek, asked quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce about the alleged favouritism.
"Patrick, for your whole career you have had so many great people help you win. So, who is your favourite ref?" Shertenlieb asked Mahomes.
The Chiefs star QB took the joke well and went on to praise the job done by the referees in the NFL.
Kelce, who is dating pop megastar Taylor Swift, was not as jovial about Shertenlieb's attempt at hard-hitting journalism.
"Travis, what do you love more: Taylor Swift or phantom 15-yard roughing the passer penalties in the play-offs?" Shertenlieb asked.
Kelce gave a stern reply: "That's a good question. Anybody else?"
The NFL and the ref's union were forced to comment
The frustration, innuendo and criticism of the referees and the NFL became so loud that the league had to respond.
In a press conference leading up to the game, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell described the accusation of favouritism as a "ridiculous theory", but he said he believed it came from the passion of fan bases across the league.
Everything you need to know about Super Bowl LIX
Photo shows A composite image of NFL players Patrick Mahomes and Saquon Barkely with Taylorn Swift
"A lot of those theories are things that happen on social media and they get a new life," Goodell said.
The acknowledgement from the league was strongly welcomed by the NFLRA, the labour union that represents the league's officials.
The union's executive director, Scott Green, said questioning of the officials' integrity was "insulting and preposterous".
"Commissioner Goodell's comments that it is 'ridiculous' to presume that NFL Officials are not doing everything possible to make the right call on every play is spot on," Green said in a statement.
"Officiating crews do not work the same team more than twice each regular season. It is insulting and preposterous to hear conspiracy theories that somehow 17 officiating crews consisting of 138 officials are colluding to assist one team."
"There are many things that fans can worry about over a 17-game season, such as coaching decisions, player injuries, the weather and, yes, even close calls on incredible plays made by incredible athletes.
"But you can rest assured that on every single down, NFL Officials, both on the field and in the replay booth, are doing everything humanly possible to officiate every play correctly."
No doubt the football world will be hoping for a drama-free Super Bowl between the Chiefs and Eagles on Monday.
But there is little doubt some will see what they want to see.
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