Alberto Riveron, a nine-year veteran NFL game official and the league's first Hispanic referee, has been named NFL senior director of officiating, NFL.com reports. Riveron will report to Vice President of Officiating Dean Blandino. As the number-two person in the department, Riveron will supervise multiple aspects of the NFL's officiating operations. Among his responsibilities, Riveron will oversee the NFL Instant Replay Program and assist Blandino in assignment and evaluation of officials, assigning individual officials to crews and crews to games, overseeing the evaluation process of officials and crews, and developing and distributing weekly training videos and other materials to improve accuracy and consistency. Riveron will join Blandino in working closely with the NFL Competition Committee to develop proper on-field officiating practices for rule changes and "points of emphasis". "Al did a tremendous job as a referee and was quickly able to earn the respect of the players and coaches," Blandino said. "His on-field experience will be an asset for us as we strive to improve the consistency and quality of our officiating program." Source: The Redzone
