A pass interference penalty called against the University of Texas with 2:40 left in the third quarter of its game Saturday night against Georgia led mostly student fans to rain water bottles onto the field at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin.
The University of Texas issued an apology for the fan behavior, but was subsequently fined $250,000 by the Southeastern Conference, according to ESPN. The game was stalled several minutes by the fan reaction to what appeared to be the negation a Longhorns' interception at a critical moment in their comeback attempt, trailing the Bulldogs at the time, 23-8. As Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian walked toward the end zone littered with hundreds of bottles to plead with fans to stop, officials reversed the call, saying there was no penalty on the play. That, in turn, didn't sit well with Georgia coach Kirby Smart or his athletic director, Josh Brooks.
"Now we've set a precedent that if you throw a bunch of stuff on the field and endanger athletes that you've got a chance to get your call reversed," Smart said after the game. "And that's unfortunate because, to me, that's dangerous. That's not what we want, and that's not criticizing officials. That's what happened."
In a statement early Sunday morning cited by ESPN's Dave Wilson, the SEC said officials "gathered to discuss the play, which is permitted to ensure the proper penalty is enforced."
Meanwhile, Brooks posted on social media that he was "disappointed and frustrated" with how the call was reversed.
"Disagreeing with a singular call is natural and will happen several times in every football game. I can accept that," Brooks said in his post. "What I cannot accept is the manner in which this specific call was reversed. The official claimed he erred in the call. My question is when did he realize the error?
"If it was before the delay that occurred due to fans throwing objects on the field, what stopped him before the head official made the announcement and spotted the ball? I have faith we, as a conference, will learn from this and get better. We must, because in the SEC it just means more."
The SEC said the handling of the penalty was incorrect, but the reaction should have been prevented.
"While the original evaluation and assessment of the penalty was not properly executed, it is unacceptable to have debris thrown on the field at any time," the league said.
Georgia prevailed in the battle of Top-5 teams, 30-15.
A statement cosigned by three Texas officials Sunday read:
While we deeply appreciate the passion and loyalty of our fan base at The University of Texas at Austin, we do not condone the unsportsmanlike conduct that was exhibited by some individuals throwing objects onto the field during last night's game and sincerely apologize to the University of Georgia players, coaches and fans, as well as the Southeastern Conference and officiating crew. This type of behavior will not be tolerated.
Respect, sportsmanship, and fairness are the values that drive our program, and we expect all of our fans to uphold these standards. We are committed to fostering a positive environment for all participants, teams, officials and fans, and we will take steps to ensure that this type of behavior does not happen again.
We appreciate the support of Longhorn Nation and are confident that, moving forward, we will continue to represent our university with pride and respect.
Thank you for your understanding and continued support.
UT System Board of Regents Chairman, Kevin Eltife
UT President, Jay Hartzell
UT Vice President and Lois and Folger Athletics Director, Chris Del Conte
