Photo courtesy of Facebook.

The shield announced on Sunday morning that it removed side judge Brian Stropolo from today’s New Orleans/Carolina game due to a conflict of interest.

Mr. Stropolo is a die-hard Saints fan and posted pics of himself in Saints gear on his Facebook page.

(face palm)

As a result of Stropolo’s rooting interest, he will not work on Sunday.

I’m with Team NFL on this one. Can you imagine if Stropolo did something to negatively impact the game in favor of the Saints?

You can’t have Stropolo out there being a potential vigilante and making pro-Saints calls.

What if he threw a flag against the Panthers and then lifted up his official’s shirt to reveal a Free Sean Payton t-shirt?

Nope, can’t happen.

It would be one of the all-time league disasters considering what has gone on with New Orleans over the last year.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GieK_55uyY

By the way, why didn’t Stropolo take these photos down from Facebook?!?

Did he think no one in the league office would find out?

Why didn’t a family member alert him regarding such common sense matters?

This is just another reason why regular officials need to return. Ed Hochuli’s Facebook page likely just features him with his family, running marathons, getting jacked, and posing.

Clean up your backyard replacement officials. People are watching.