If there’s anything NFL fans are irked by the most while watching games, it’s when video replay clearly shows a player should’ve been flagged for an infraction that went missed by the on-field officials. It’s even more infuriating when the team that got away with it ends up scoring or winning as a result.

The league may explore a way to cut down on those instances of inequity this offseason, but it could come at a cost. ESPN’s Kevin Seifert and Mark Reiss reported Monday the NFL Competition Committee will discuss allowing video replay officials to “throw” flags when on-field officials miss a call live. It’s unclear what the exact process may be for that kind of retroactive refereeing, but the NFL wants to discuss a slow roll for penalizing non-football plays the officials miss during games.

The case for replay-triggered penalties: Getting the call right matters

While there are trepidations about calling a penalty long after a play has concluded on the field, what fans seem to all agree on is making sure competition is fair. Getting calls right, no matter how much time has past, does just that.

The process the NFL is looking at implementing would allow officials in the booth to view replays of non-football acts that should’ve incurred a penalty.

For example, in Super Bowl LX New England Patriots wideout Stefon Diggs was punched by Seattle Seahawks cornerback Josh Jobe after the two grabbed each other’s facemasks on the sideline. No flag was thrown and Jobe was allowed to continue playing where he made important tackles in the fourth quarter. The proposed system would’ve seen what fans saw on NBC and applied the appropriate penalty.

Of course, the late hit by Jobe out of bounds would not be subject to this proposed system. For now, post-game suspensions and fines will have to do for missed violations. Getting the call right matters. It impacts wins and losses more than the league realizes, but this new proposal can limit the damage done by the calls that are obviously missed.

The case against replay-triggered penalties: Can the system be trusted?

There is no person more skeptical in the institutions of a league than a sports fan. Whether this new system is designed to get calls right or not, the timing will create more questions than it answers.

Let’s say there’s a non-football act that should’ve been called at a Philadelphia Eagles game where the score is tied and its late in the fourth quarter. Play is halted for 15-20 seconds and then a flag is suddenly dropped. An Eagles player is ejected for unsportsmanlike conduct and a few plays later the opponent scores a walk off touchdown.

The fans at Lincoln Financial Field would riot despite video evidence clearly showing the Eagles player throwing a punch at the opposing team’s trainer. The sportsbooks would’ve inevitably made an exorbitant amount of money from wagers on what was supposed to be an easy Eagles win. Conspiracy theorists everywhere have a field day.

I get it, that’s a very specific scenario but it’s the kind of thing the league is opening itself up to with this proposal. The skeptical fan is always the loudest and delayed calls will just breed mistrust and misinformation.

Is the NFL prepared for the exponential rise in controversy it probably hopes this system will subside? Fear of that very tidal wave could be what prevents the league from letting it get out of committee in the first place.