As if there wasn’t enough fuel for the heated rivalry, the fourth quarter antics in the Labour Day Classic should only ratchet up the intensity for Saturday’s Banjo Bowl rematch between the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Riders defensive lineman Pete Robertson was suspended one game for the rematch for head-butting quarterback Zach Collaros after the whistle with four minutes remaining in a game where the Riders eventually prevailed 32-30 in overtime.
Forty-eight hours after the fourth quarter incident, Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea weighed in on the suspension on the 680 CJOB Bomber Coach’s Show on Monday night.
“I think it’s warranted,” said O’Shea.
Robertson was not ejected from the game and was only assessed an unnecessary roughness penalty before getting suspended less than 24 hours later.
“I’m sure everybody is wondering why he wasn’t removed from the game when it happened,” O’Shea said. “I think that can be discussed also.
“I just know that the officials have a real hard time ejecting a player; they think that it’s pretty serious. I think what Pete did was pretty serious.
“When he commits a foul like that that’s going to result in a suspension, then I just believe that something should happen during the game. Not a two and half yard penalty or whatever it was.”
After having their five game win streak halted, the Bombers will look to bounce back on Saturday with kickoff scheduled for shortly after 3:00 pm.
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