SEC official Ken Williamson, the pinnacle referee within the Oct. 11 Georgia-Auburn recreation that featured a number of controversial calls, has been faraway from additional assignments and isn’t anticipated to return to the convention’s officiating lineup, a number of sources briefed on the choice stated.
The SEC declined to remark. Williamson didn’t reply to a message despatched by The Athletic on Thursday.
Williamson, who has labored SEC video games for practically 20 years, reversed a charged Georgia timeout within the fourth quarter after coach Kirby Sensible got here as much as him and insisted he didn’t name a timeout. Replays confirmed Sensible showing to provide the timeout sign from the sideline simply because the play clock was about to expire on the Dawgs’ offense, however Sensible stated afterward he was merely attempting to alert Williamson that Auburn’s protection was making clapping sounds.
The sport had a higher-than-usual variety of questionable calls. The SEC’s regular after-action assessment discovered 9 performs that would have been dominated in a different way, per sources acquainted with the method; 5 dominated in Georgia’s favor, 4 for Auburn.
Georgia gained 20-10, with the sport turning on a controversial goal-line play. Auburn quarterback Jackson Arnold reached the ball for the goal-line on a “tush push” play. Arnold fumbled and Georgia recovered, however Auburn argued that he had already crossed the airplane of the aim line earlier than fumbling, which might have been a landing and a 16-0 lead. However the referees disagreed.
Georgia then drove down for a area aim because the half ended, then scored 17 extra within the second half.
Auburn’s crowd booed the officers loudly, particularly after the goal-line name. Auburn athletic director John Cohen had phrases for Williamson on the sphere at halftime.
The SEC apparently didn’t deem the goal-line play as one of many 9 blown calls. Replays didn’t discover sufficient proof to overturn the fumble, and the SEC assessment backed that up, sources acquainted with the method stated.
One other twist to that play: Georgia may have been awarded a landing had officers not whistled the play over, as a result of Kyron Jones one way or the other wound up with the ball and ran it again the size of the sphere. It was unclear if he would have been dominated down after recovering the fumble.
THE REFS RULED THIS A FUMBLE 😱
GEORGIA PUNCHES IT OUT AT THE GOAL LINE‼️ pic.twitter.com/XdIgYywx5s
— ESPN (@espn) October 12, 2025
Williamson didn’t officiate a recreation final weekend, however the remainder of his crew did: Six members labored the Texas A&M-Arkansas recreation and one other labored Mississippi State-Florida.
Yellowhammer Information first reported Williamson’s removing from SEC assignments on Wednesday, saying he’d been “completely suspended.” The Athletic couldn’t verify that the convention had taken everlasting motion. Sport officers should not full-time workers and might be faraway from a league’s rotation at any time.
A number of different controversies
The SEC has had tough moments with officiating over the previous two seasons, with Georgia and Auburn on the mistaken ends of it. In final yr’s Georgia win at Texas, a cross interference name towards Texas was reversed after Longhorn followers threw particles on the sphere. Georgia gained, anyway.
This yr, Auburn misplaced at Oklahoma by a landing in a recreation the place Oklahoma scored on a play when officers ought to have dominated it an unlawful substitution. The SEC acknowledged the error in an announcement, with Cohen venting his displeasure in an announcement a couple of days later.
Within the aftermath of the Georgia loss, Auburn coach Hugh Freeze stated: “It positive seems like we’re not getting any breaks.”
Williamson, who’s primarily based in Tampa and runs a monetary teaching enterprise, has been a soccer official for 41 years, together with the previous 21 on the FBS degree and 17 with the SEC, in line with a bio listed by the Gulf Atlantic Collegiate Officers Soccer Camp. Williamson graded nicely sufficient to obtain a number of high-profile recreation assignments: The 2019 School Soccer Semifinal between Ohio State and Clemson, the 2021 SEC championship, and he was an alternate on final yr’s CFP semifinal within the Fiesta Bowl.
— The Athletic’s Chris Vannini contributed reporting.
