Collum agreed with the VAR decision not to award a penalty against Fernandez in Rangers’ 2-2 draw with Dundee United at Tannadice. On that occasion, the ball appeared to clip the defender’s arm as it dropped from a United throw-in.
The head of refereeing said the incident was “not punishable in any shape or form” and also agreed with the awarding of a late Rangers penalty, which Nedim Bajrami converted after a foul by Will Ferry on Max Aarons.
Collum similarly backed the decision not to award a spot-kick against Hearts’ Harry Milne as he blocked a Kyrell Wilson shot on the line as hosts Falkirk attacked. Collum said it was “one million per cent not a penalty kick” because Milne had his arm tucked in against his body.
Celtic defender Liam Scales had a penalty awarded against him for handball in his side’s 2-1 win at Hibernian and Collum again agreed, saying: “It’s the right decision.”
Hearts claimed unsuccessfully for a spot-kick in their 1-1 draw at home to Kilmarnock after Dominic Thompson appeared to head the ball on to his hand. Collum again backed his officials’ decision.
Two incidents during Rangers’ 3-0 win at Kilmarnock were also given Collum’s approval.
Goalkeeper Jack Butland’s challenge on Killie’s Bruce Anderson outside the box was not judged to have merited a red card, and an off-the-ball pull by Mohamed Diomande on David Watson on the edge of the box also went unpunished. Collum believes both incidents were judged correctly.
The NFL fined the Rams receiver $25,000 for remarks he made about NFL officiating, according to NFL Media.
Nacua caught 12 passes for a career-best 225 yards and two touchdowns against the Seahawks.
During a livestream on Tuesday, with YouTubers N3on and Adin Ross, Nacua said, “The refs are the worst.”
Nacua did not stop there.
“These guys are lawyers, and like, really, they want to be on TV, too, bro,” Nacua said. “You don’t think he’s texting his friends in the group chat like, ‘Yo, you guys just saw me on “Sunday Night Football.” Like, that wasn’t [pass interference], but I called it.’”
After the loss to the Seahawks, Nacua appeared to double down.
“Can you say I was wrong,” he posted to X. “Appreciate you stripes for your contribution. Lol”
The post was quickly deleted.
“Just a moment of frustration after a tough, intense game like that, just thinking of the opportunities that I could have done better to take it out of their hands,” Nacua told reporters in the locker room. “Just a moment of frustration.”
Coach Sean McVay said during his postgame news conference that he had not seen Nacua’s post to X.
In regard to Nacua’s criticism of officials during the livestream, McVay said, “Yeah, we don’t want to do that.”
It was a tumultuous week for Nacua, who apologized Thursday for making a antisemitic gesture during the same livestream, saying he didn’t know that the gesture was considered offensive.
“Can you say I was wrong,” he wrote on X. “Appreciate you stripes for your contribution. Lol”
The post was quickly deleted. The questions about Nacua’s judgment remained.
Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua criticized referees immediately after the Rams’ overtime loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday night before deleting the post on X.
Nacua, 24, is in line for a monster contract extension in the upcoming offseason, as the Rams view their record-breaking receiver as a cornerstone. But here he was basically repeating a mistake he made only two days earlier, which can’t be what any team wants from its most popular player.
Are the Rams really about to entrust him with the responsibility of projecting their virtues?
Ironically, the most controversial aspect of his recent livestream appearance could be the most defensible. Hours before the Rams played the Seahawks, Nacua offered an explanation for the antisemitic gesture he made on Adin Ross’ and N3on’s show.
“At the time,” Nacua posted on Instagram, “I had no idea this act was antisemitic in nature and perpetuated harmful stereotypes against Jewish people.”
The story was believable. The offensive hand movements were part of a touchdown celebration Ross encouraged Nacua to perform if he scored against the Seahawks.
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Gary Klein breaks down what went wrong for the Rams in their 38-37 loss to the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field on Thursday night.
Ross is Jewish. Earlier in the livestream he wished his viewers a Happy Hanukkah, which prompted Nacua to share that he accepted a friend’s invitation to attend Shabbat last week.
When Nacua was informed of the undertone of the celebration he practiced with Ross, he apologized. He reached the end zone twice on Thursday and didn’t perform the dance either time.
“I know this guy’s heart and for anybody that was offended, terribly sorry about that,”Rams coach Sean McVay said. “I know he feels that same exact way.”
The guess here is that he won’t ever make the gesture again.
Less certain is whether Nacua will be able to continue building his personal brand without becoming a distraction to his team.
The Rams should be concerned.
In a short week, the Rams were forced to bar Ross and N3on from entering their building.
Later that afternoon, their most visible player joined the streamers in their vehicle and traveled to a club, where he claimed that referees purposely made egregious calls because they wanted TV airtime.
This is a brave new world for athletes and the teams that employ them. Younger audiences want their heroes to be open, whether they are athletes or entertainers. For stars such as Nacua, the challenge is to strike a balance between being accessible and protective of their teams.
Nacua failed to do that this week.
“Coach (McVay) has just echoed that he’s always in continuous support of me, disappointed in some of the actions that just distracted my teammates and that’s something that I know I’ll learn from and I don’t want to be a distraction in any week, especially in a short week, so we had talked about that and he’s right there behind me,” Nacua said.
Nacua nonetheless voiced his displeasure with referees again on Thursday, posting to X minutes after the Seahawks won the game by scoring a two-point conversion in overtime.
What inspired the message, Nacua said, was “just a moment of frustration after a tough, intense game like that, just thinking of the opportunities that I could have done better to take it out of their hands.”
Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua, right, celebrates next to teammate Jordan Whittington after making a touchdown catch in the fourth quarter against the Seahawks on Thursday.
(Soobum Im / Getty Images)
Whatever that meant.
McVay declined to comment about Nacua’s post, saying he was first informed of its existence when he was asked about it in his postgame news conference.
“I have to have more information before I answer any of those kinds of questions,” McVay said.
However, McVay said of Nacua’s comments about referees on the livestream, “Yeah, we don’t want to do that.”
Being asked about an unpleasant subject in the wake of a crushing defeat made McVay testy. Asked if the fallout from Nacua’s livestream was a distraction, McVay snapped, “Did you think his play showed that he was distracted?”
Nacua caught 12 passes for 225 yards.
But McVay caught himself and apologized.
“I love this team,” he said. “And, man, when you put out as much as our group does and you care so much about something and you come up short, it’s incredibly disappointing.”
Such presence of mind explains why McVay is the voice of the Rams. As competitive as he is, as intense as he can be, he knows how to keep his impulses from compromising his team’s long-term objectives.
Nacua has to figure out how to do that. By next season, he won’t be an underpaid star on his original rookie contract. He will have a deal that reflects his stature as a player, and with that comes responsibility. Recent days raised questions about whether he is capable.
