Super Bowl 2022 referee assignments: Ronald Torbert to lead officiating crew
The NFL has selected its officiating crew for Super Bowl 56.
The crew will be made up of eight officials who have worked a combined seven Super Bowls. Four of the officials, including referee Ronald Torbert, are first-time participants in the Super Bowl.
The NFL chooses its Super Bowl officials based on a grading system that evaluates their performance on a week-to-week basis. Thus, Torbert and his usual crew were deemed among the most accurate officials in the NFL this season, and that’s part of why he is getting the nod to become the third Black official to serve as a Super Bowl referee.
Below is a rundown of the officiating crew with some more background on the referee who will share the spotlight with the AFC and NFC Champions in 2022.
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Who is the Super Bowl 56 referee?
Ronald Torbert will be the referee for Super Bowl 56. Torbert has been an NFL official since 2010, when he began his career as a side judge. He was promoted to the referee role in 2014 after Scott Green and Ron Winter retired.
In 2021, Torbert averaged 11.8 flags thrown and 10 penalties accepted per game, per NFLPenalties.com. Both marks were good for the second-fewest among NFL referees behind only Bill Vinovich.
Torbert has never been the Super Bowl referee, but he was the alternate for Super Bowl 53, which saw the Patriots beat the Rams 13-3. He works as an attorney when he isn’t officiating, and he is a graduate of both Michigan State University and Harvard Law School.
Torbert will be the third Black official to serve as a Super Bowl referee. Mike Carey was the first to do so in 2008 while Jerome Boger earned the nod in 2013.
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Super Bowl 56 officials
Torbert will preside over a crew of seven other officials, four of whom have worked in the Super Bowl before.
Below is a full list of the officials for the big game, along with their Super Bowl experience.
| Position | Official | Previous Super Bowls |
| Referee | Ron Torbert | — |
| Umpire | Bryan Neale | — |
| Down Judge | Derick Bowers | 43 |
| Line Judge | Carl Johnson | 42, 54 |
| Field Judge | Rick Patterson | 37, 39 |
| Side Judge | Keith Washington | — |
| Back Judge | Scott Helverson | 52, 55 |
| Replay Official | Roddy Ames | — |
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