To the relief of fans, players and owners, the National Football League's regular referees will return to work today after a deal was struck to end a damaging lockout of unionised game officials.
The first 3 weeks of the NFL have been blighted by mistakes from the standin officials culminating in this weeks Monday Night game when a botched call handed the Seattle Seahawks victory over the Green Bay Packers.
That result added a sense of urgency to talks between the league and the NFL Referees Association and a new eight-year deal has been reached.
Significantly, NFL team owners only became directly involved in talks the day after the Seattle match which prompted a nationwide reaction and even encouragement from President Barack Obama for the two sides to resolve their differences swiftly.
