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Screengrab courtesy: Amar Doman on Instagram
The Saskatchewan Roughriders booked their ticket to the 112th Grey Cup on Saturday, but the B.C. Lions believe the touchdown catch that sealed the West Final for their opponent wasn’t one at all.
“I just saw it about 30 minutes ago. It’s obvious it’s not a catch,” general manager Ryan Rigmaiden told the media on Sunday. “I think that’s all I should probably say about that.”
The Riders executed a seven-play, 76-yard touchdown drive in the final minute of regulation to eliminate the Lions, capped by a three-yard pass from Trevor Harris to Tommy Nield at the front of the end zone. The Canadian receiver went down low to snag the ball with cornerback Garry Peters draped over his back, giving Saskatchewan a 24-21 lead with 11 seconds on the clock.
TOMMY NIELD GIVES SASKATCHEWAN THE LEAD WITH 11 SECONDS LEFT ON THE CLOCK! 😱😱😱 #CFL pic.twitter.com/sxTDSbUdNV
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) November 9, 2025
While some questions were raised as to the validity of the catch on the broadcast, the controversy was largely forgotten after the game. However, Lions owner Amar Doman kicked off a firestorm on Sunday when he shared two screenshots of the alleged reception on his Instagram story, which appeared to show the football hitting the turf. The passionate businessman captioned the photo simply “not a catch”.
Photo courtesy: Amar Doman on Instagram
Veteran defensive back T.J. Lee said he knew that to be true when the play happened on the field, and was surprised at the ruling by the officials.
“The players that were on the field that were watching on our teams said he dropped it, and so I believe that he dropped it. But the call was the call, and he caught it?” he said, awkwardly emphasizing the word for effect. “They won, most importantly.”
Like all scoring plays, Nield’s touchdown was reviewed by the CFL Command Centre in Toronto to determine whether the correct call was made on the field. That review lasted an unusually long time before the major was confirmed. The replay official is only able to overturn a call if it is “clear and obvious” that an error has taken place.
Despite Doman’s stills showing that the ball touched the ground, it is unclear if Nield had control when that occurred. TSN’s camera angles offered no definitive proof that a catch did not occur, with blurry footage, players’ bodies, and the goalposts all obstructing the view. That led to the call being upheld.
Quarterback Nathan Rourke, who ironically has advocated for the goalposts remaining at the front of the end zone where they interfered with this review, said he has yet to watch the play in question. He trusts that the Command Centre was sound in their decision-making.
“If the evidence was there on the video replay system, because they did look at it, I think they would have overturned it,” Rourke said. “At this point, as much as we’d like to think that maybe we got the wrong call, or something like that, it’s hard to change it right now.”
Head coach Buck Pierce also elected to defer his commentary on the play, stating only that it was ruled a touchdown on the field. Catch or no catch, he does not believe the game came down to that singular moment.
“There’s a hundred and some odd deciding plays in a football game,” Pierce insisted. “Unfortunately, it came down to the end there, but there were plays and opportunities to be made on both sides of the ball, in all three phases, that we didn’t make.”
The Lions had multiple chances to win the West Final, going two-and-out twice in the final three minutes with a four-point lead. They also failed to stop Harris on his final drive with 1:03 left. Even if Nield’s catch had been ruled incomplete, the Riders would have had two more opportunities to score from the three-yard line.
Still, the fact that the validity of the points that prevented them from reaching the Grey Cup is in any doubt has added salt to an open wound.
“Terribly frustrating. You’ve got guys that are fighting the whole season to lose a game on something that may have not been a catch,” Rigmaiden said.
“Listen, hats off to Sask, their staff, their players — they’ve had a tremendous year. But nobody wants to lose a game that way. You don’t want to lose a game, period, but especially that way. I just saw the photo of it maybe 30 minutes ago, so I’m just trying to digest it as well. But to me, it did not look like a catch.”
The Montreal Alouettes (12-8) and Saskatchewan Roughriders (13-6) will meet in the 112th Grey Cup at Princess Auto Stadium in Winnipeg on Sunday, November 16, with kickoff scheduled for 6:00 p.m. EST.
The weather forecast in Winnipeg calls for a high of two degrees with a mix of sun and cloud. The game will be broadcast on TSN, CTV, and RDS in Canada, CBS Sports Network in the United States, and CFL+ internationally.