By BEN FELLER AP White House Correspondent
WASHINGTON — The embarrassing NFL referee saga and the disputed call that gave Seattle a victory over Green Bay Monday night has reached the campaign for the White House with President Barack Obama deeming it “terrible” and saying it was time to get the regulars back on the job.
“I’ve been saying for months we’ve got to get our refs back,” Obama said as he returned to the White House from a United Nations appearance in New York.
The Seattle Seahawks won 14-12 over the Green Bay Packers after referees ruled a Seattle receiver caught the ball amid a pile of bodies in the end zone in the game’s last play. The NFL conceded Tuesday that referees should have called pass interference against Seattle, but still upheld the Seattle victory.
Typically, Obama, a diehard Chicago Bears enthusiast, is not one to wish the rival Green Bay Packers well.
But besides being an avid sports fan, Obama has recently redoubled efforts to win in politically important Wisconsin, home to the Packers and the home state of rival Mitt Romney’s running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan.
In a tweet that went out under over his initials, Obama said: “NFL fans on both sides of the aisle hope the refs’ lockout is settled soon.”
Ryan himself weighed in Tuesday in Cincinnati, Ohio, and put a partisan spin on the disputed call.
“Did you guys watch that Packer game last night?” Ryan said. “ I mean, give me a break. It is time to get the real refs. And do you know what, it reminds me of President Obama and the economy. If you can’t get it right, it’s time to get out. I half think that these refs work part-time for the Obama
Administration in the budget office. … They’re trying to pick the winners and losers, and they don’t even do that very well.”
The NFL locked out the officials in June after their contract expired. The league has been using replacement officials, who have come under increasing criticism over the way they handled some games.
White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters aboard Air force One that Obama watched the Monday night game and “thinks there was a real problem with that call.”
“He said that what happened in that game is why both sides need to come together, resolved their differences so the regular refs can get back on the field so we can focusing on a game that so many of us love rather than debating whether or not a game was won or lost because of a bad call,” Carney said.
