NFL made unjustifiable call to eject 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw for sideline scrap

Dre Greenlaw should have been flagged for his flagrant flip of DeVonta Smith.

Ejected? No way.

Greenlaw was tossed from the NFC title game rematch at The Linc on Sunday for mashing the face of  Philadelphia Eagles security chief Dom DiSandro – and not for what resembled a wrestling "Suplex" takedown of Smith – during a third-quarter melee at The Linc.

That was so wrong, NFL.

Greenlaw was punished for portion of the incident that never should have occurred – a non-player on the sideline who had the audacity to interject himself into the situation and put his hands on a player from the opposing team.

Isn’t there an NFL rule about that?

Tossing "Big Dom," as he’s called, in addition to Greenlaw, was hardly apples to apples.

One team lost a key player from its defense.

The Eagles lost a member of their support staff.

There is absolutely nothing fair about that, especially when considering that Greenlaw retaliated against someone who foolishly initiated contact with him.

"I just can’t believe that someone not involved in the football game could taunt out players like that, put their hands in our guys’ face," 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said after the game.

So weird. That DiSandro was tossed on the spot (which drew a loud ovation from fans as he left the field) was the correct call. And the Eagles should draw a fine from the league, too.

Greenlaw, though, should have received nothing more than a warning for an exchange with the non-player that he did not initiate.

The scenario sets a bad precedent. What happens next weekend if a ball boy from Team A starts a dust-up with the edge rusher from Team B? Are they both ejected?

The episode on Sunday was reviewed at the officiating command center in New York. The explanation provided to a pool reporter from Walt Anderson, the league’s senior vice president of officiating, underscored a serious loophole.

Anderson said that the "Replay Assist" measure known as Rule 19 allowed for the video review to confirm that Greenlaw made contact with DiSandro, "which warranted his disqualification." Yet Anderson said the rule doesn’t allow the ability to throw a flag on a non-player that was not called on the field.

"That’s only afforded for a player action," Anderson told Zach Berman, the pool reporter representing the Pro Football Writers of America.

The video, though, confirmed that the non-player escalated the episode – which should have weighed into the decision by referee Alex Kemp.

The Eagles, though, weren’t even penalized after the security director was ejected.

Even worse, the 49ers lost a key player for the rest of the game for retaliating against a staff member who should not have been in the vicinity of the ruckus.

"Big Dom" is beloved for the security that he provides the Eagles. But the literal act of that during Sunday’s game surely crossed a boundary line.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NFL made wrong call to eject 49ers' Dre Greenlaw in Eagles scuffle