NEW YORK, N.Y. - The union representing NFL on-field officials criticized the league Thursday for inconsistencies in grading calls, including two high-profile penalties from recent games.In a release, the NFL Referees Association says the NFL has caused confusion for NFL officials as to what the league does and doesnt want called.The union referred to penalties on Washingtons Chris Baker for a hit on Eagles quarterback Nick Foles on Sept. 21, and to Chiefs safety Husain Abdullah last Monday night for going to his knees to celebrate an interception return for a touchdown. Abdullah actually had gone to his knees to pray a€” an act exempted from celebration penalties.The union says both calls were graded as correct even after NFL executives announced that they were incorrect. Baker got a 15-yard penalty and was ejected from the game at Philadelphia. Abdullah also received a 15-yard penalty.Consistency in penalty enforcement is extremely important to the players, coaches and fans. Uncertainty as to what the league wants called is not a road you want to go down, said Jim Quirk, executive director of the NFLRA.Quirk noted that Baker was penalized for a blindside block on Foles as a personal foul; a brawl followed near the Washington sideline and Eagles tackle Jason Peters was also ejected.Two days later, Troy Vincent, the NFLs executive vice-president of football operations, said the hit was legal and should not have been penalized. Yet, the NFLRA said, the leagues officiating department a day later graded the call as correct.In the case of the block on Nick Foles, by rule, it was not a foul because the quarterback was pursuing the play, the contact was not to the head or neck area, and the play was not over, NFL spokesman Michael Signora said in an email to The Associated Press. However, the referee a€” watching the play at full speed and without the benefit of a replay review a€” judged that the block was late and threw a flag. While not a correct call, we understand why it was made.In the case of Abdullah, a devout Muslim who took off a year from football to go on a pilgrimage to Mecca, the league said Tuesday that the penalty was in error.The leagues rule book prohibits players from celebrating while on the ground, but spokesman Michael Signora wrote in an email Tuesday that the officiating mechanic in this situation is not to flag a player who goes to the ground as part of religious expression, and as a result, there should have been no penalty on the play.But, according to the union, officials who made the call were given correct grades by the officiating department on Thursday. That could be because Abdullah could have been penalized for sliding on his knees before actually praying.But the league reiterated Thursday what it announced earlier this week, that the call was incorrect and not graded otherwise.As part of evaluating the performance of our game officials, the officiating supervisors recognize that for an incorrect call on a close judgment play, the official may have used appropriate reasoning, Signora said. On such a call, the official is not downgraded.Regardless, said former NFLRA President Scott Green, a recently retired referee, theres a communications problem between the NFL and its game officials.It seems there is a disconnect between what the officiating department expects from officials and the public statements being made by league executives, Green said. It certainly creates uncertainty for the guys making split-second decisions on the field.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL Brooks Reed Jersey . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. Brian Poole Jersey . Numbers Game looks at the As getting Jon Lester from Boston, sending Yoenis Cespedes to the Red Sox along with a deal involving the As and the Minnesota Twins. The Athletics Get: LHP Jon Lester, LF Jonny Gomes, OF Sam Fuld and cash. http://www.officialatlantafalconsfootball.com/authentic-terrell-mcclain-jersey-womens .4 seconds left and dribbled up court, weaving through Pitts defence. Matt Schaub Jersey . The Union looked to have grabbed a big win in the 88th minute when Amobi Okugo finally put the hosts in front. But a terrible giveaway by Union goalkeeper Rais Mbolhi handed Earnshaw the equalizer in the second minute of stoppage time, keeping the Union two points back of fifth-place Red Bull New York for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Brandon Fusco Jersey . Not Peyton Manning. Hes holding on to the heartache to stoke his competitive fire.STANFORD, Calif. -- Jurgen Klinsmann tried to dance around the questions: Why take unproven youngsters to the World Cup and leave Landon Donovan home? A day after announcing his momentous decision to drop the most accomplished player in American mens soccer, the U.S. coach hinted at answers without ever saying specifically why Donovan was among the final seven cuts. "As a coach, you have to make a decision based on what you want to execute in Brazil, what you want to see, how do you want to build those components into the entire group. And then I felt -- we coaches felt -- the guys that we chose, theyre a little step ahead of Landon in certain areas," Klinsmann said Friday. The 32-year-old Donovan, the American record holder with 57 international goals and second with 156 appearances, was trying to make his fourth World Cup roster. He is scoreless in seven games with the Los Angeles Galaxy this season, and Klinsmann dropped him from the roster for the first half of 2013 after Donovan took a four-month sabbatical. Asked for specifics, Klinsmann said Donovan "maybe is not the one now anymore to go one against one all the time or going into the box or finishing off." But the coach praised "his outstanding passing game, his experience, which is a big factor always." "He changed his game over the last few years, which is normal at that stage of his career," Klinsmann said. Donovan has five World Cup goals, including a stoppage-time score against Algeria four years ago that advanced the Americans to the second round. "We all have an incredible amount of respect and appreciation and admiration for everything that Landon has done for this team and for soccer in this country," said Toronto FCs Michael Bradley. "To see him walk out the door yesterday, to see six other guys walk out the door yesterday, is not easy." Klinsmann said Donovan took the decision Thursday "with an amazing composure." "Obviously, big disappointment. That is expected, and he said that, he doesnt kind of understand it," Klinsmann said. "He thinks he should have been in the 23." Donovan was scheduled to discuss the decision Saturday after training with the Galaxy. "Just sad for all the guys who got cut and what comes with it," U.S. captain Clint Dempsey said. "You bring inn 30 players who have a lot of quality and it makes difficult decisions for the coaches to make.dddddddddddd" Klinsmann said he hopes Donovan remains in the player pool in the future: The Americans have the CONCACAF Gold Cup next year and the Copa America in 2016, when qualifying for the next World Cup also starts. Donovan also could return for the World Cup if there is an injury to one of the players selected for the roster. "How this new cycle will start after Brazil obviously depends a lot on the outcome in Brazil," Klinsmann said, "but the vision is, absolutely, that Landon continues his national team career." A World Cup champion with West Germany and European champion with Germany, Klinsmann was hired in July 2011. Less than a week after the Americans were drawn in December into a difficult World Cup group with Ghana, Portugal and Germany, the U.S. Soccer Federation announced Klinsmanns contract had been extended through 2018. He maintained the new deal didnt make him think more toward the future when making his picks. "This is based on today. This is based on what hopefully goes well the next seven, eight weeks, so that had nothing to do with my contract or with the perspective that those young players have for the longer run," he said. His roster includes 18-year-old winger Julian Green, who made his national team debut last month and has just six minutes of first-team experience with Bayern Munich; 21-year-old central defender Anthony Brooks, who has three international appearances; and 20-year-old right back DeAndre Yedlin, whose only national team appearances were as a second-half substitute this year. "Some have a learning curve ahead of them, theres no doubt about it," Klinsmann said. "But they are ready for that learning curve, and they might surprise some people out there." Since returning to the World Cup in 1990 after a 40-year absence, the U.S. has alternated first-round elimination with advancement. The Americans open against Ghana, which knocked them out in the group stage in 2006 and the second round last time. "As of today Im very strongly convinced this is the right way to go for it," Klinsmann said. "Now time will tell. If Im not getting the job done at the end of the day, you know the outcome of things in the soccer world." 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