The referee explained why the Cowboys star was penalised

THE NFL will not fine CeeDee Lamb after he collided with an official.

The Dallas Cowboys star was smashed into by a referee on the sideline during a game against the Los Angeles Rams.

Ceedee Lamb has escaped a fine after colliding with an officialCredit: Getty

The Cowboys star was not playing but stood on the sidelines cheering a pass

He was smashed into by a referee
Lamb stepped into the path of a referee and was given a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for the contact.

NFL rules state players are also fined for any physical contact with officials – with a $40,686 fine for a first offense, and a $81,374 fine for a second offense.

Lamb was not even playing at the time of the incident and he was kitted out in his street clothes.

During the friendly, Lamb celebrated a pass from quarterback Joe Milton III to Jonathan Mingo.
Just as he did so, facing down the pitch, a sideline official sprinted down the touchline.But with both men watching the action on the pitch, the official charged straight into Lamb from behind and sent him tumbling heavily to the ground.

Lamb saw the funny side as he dusted himself down.

But he was still penalised with referee Alex Moore explaining why the Rams benefited from the collision.

Moore told the LA Times: “It’s a sideline interference.

“CeeDee Lamb was standing in the restricted white border area, which is our area to officiate the game.
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“The official on the play was focused solely on doing his job and he ran into CeeDee Lamb, who was standing in that restricted area.”That’s what happened. And with that contact, it’s an automatic foul.

“It’s more of a rare situation. Normally we don’t have anybody standing that deep into the restricted area, or that type of forceful contact.

“So, it is a rare occurrence, but it does happen from time to time.”

And Dallas Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer had no complaints against the decision – only against his distracted star.

Schottenheimer said: “Just like the pre-snap penalties, that penalty, we’ve got to be better with discipline.
“I hope the guy’s okay. I think he’s okay, the official that he ran into, but we have to be better than that.”CeeDee knows better. We know better.”