Referees make it official

Cleveland Browns wide receiver Greg Little fails to make this catch in the end zone during the game against the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday, September 27. The Ravens defeated the Browns 23-16. It was the first game back for the regular referees after a three-week lockout. Check back for more action from Week 4 of the 2012 National Football League season. Look back at the best of Week 3. Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco, left, hugs Cleveland quarterback Brandon Weeden following the Ravens' win on Thursday. Ravens tight end Dennis Pitta, right, misses a pass against Cleveland middle linebacker D'Qwell Jackson. Free safety Ed Reed, No. 20 of the Baltimore Ravens, breaks up a pass in the end zone intended for Cleveland tight end Jordan Cameron late in the fourth quarter. Jordan Norwood, right, of the Cleveland Browns runs the ball against the Baltimore Ravens. Ravens fans cheer the return of regular referees at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. Trent Richardson of the Cleveland Browns runs the ball in for a touchdown. Referee Gene Steratore looks on during Thursday's game between the Browns and Ravens. Running back Trent Richardson of the Cleveland Browns flips upside down during a run against the Baltimore Ravens. Ray Rice of the Baltimore Ravens runs the ball against the Cleveland Browns on Thursday. Umpire Bill Schuster, center, and referee Gene Steratore break up a fight between Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens players during the game on Thursday. Quarterback Brandon Weeden of the Cleveland Browns hands off to running back Trent Richardson on Thursday. Outside linebacker Paul Kruger, center, of the Baltimore Ravens celebates after inside linebacker Ray Lewis, left, sacked Browns quarterback Brandon Weeden on Thursday. Wide receiver Joshus Cribbs of the Cleveland Browns lies unconscious on the ground after getting hit by linebacker Dannell Ellerbe in the first quarter Thursday. Quarterback Brandon Weeden of the Cleveland Browns makes a pass Thursday. Wide receiver Torrey Smith of the Baltimore Ravens catches a touchdown pass in the second quarter against cornerback Tashaun Gipson of the Cleveland Browns Thursday. Game officials take the field before the start of the Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns game on Thursday, September 27 in Baltimore, Maryland. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 NFL referees already returned to work in Thursday night's game Saturday's ratification was a formality, establishing an eight-year contract, the longest ever Union refs' salary will rise: $149k in 2001 to $173k in 2013, topping out at $205k by 2019 The league will be allowed to hire additional referees so that they can be trained (CNN) -- The NFL referees union formally ratified Saturday a contract with the league that had been agreed upon earlier this week. The approval marks an official end to the lockout, said spokesman Greg Aiello of the National Football League. Even before the formal vote, the officials returned to work in Thursday night's game in Baltimore between the Ravens and the Cleveland Browns. The Ravens won, 23-16. The new eight-year contract -- the longest ever for officials, according to the NFL -- gives the union referees a pay bump from $149,000 a year in 2011 to $173,000 in 2013. The pay will rise to $205,000 by 2019. Real refs return to cheers The Seattle Seahawks defeated the Green Bay Packers 14-12 on Monday, September 24, after replacement officials, standing in for locked-out NFL regulars, gave possession of a disputed ball to Seattle receiver Golden Tate. Officials in the end zone gave competing signals: one indicating a touchdown, the other an interception. A timer got stuck (or something) during the 2012 London Olympics, allowing German fencer Britta Heidemann to defeat South Korean fencer Shin A-Lam in the epee semifinal. Shin sat on the piste for an hour, crying at times, while officials worked out the question. Baseball umpire Bill Joyce admittedly blew a call at first base, robbing the Detroit Tigers' Armando Galarraga of a perfect game vs. the Cleveland Indians in 2010. Joyce wept when he met Galarraga at home plate before the next day's game. In a 2009 qualifying match for the 2010 World Cup, French striker Thierry Henry got away with touching the ball with his hand — twice — before teammate William Gallas scored the winning goal against Ireland, knocking the Irish out of the competition. A regular NFL referee screwed up the call on an overtime coin toss on Thanksgiving Day 1998, and the Detroit Lions beat the Pittsburgh Steelers. Referees failed to call Germany's Torsten Frings for a handball during a 2002 match, and the U.S. was knocked out of the World Cup tournament. Argentina's Diego Maradona illegally touched the ball with his hand while scoring a goal against England in soccer's 1986 World Cup tournament. It became known as the "Hand of God" after Maradona credited divine intervention for the dubious goal. In 1999, the Dallas Stars' Brett Hull scored in triple overtime with a skate in the crease -- which at the time was illegal -- and the Stars went on to win the Stanley Cup over the Buffalo Sabres. New York Yankees second baseman Chuck Knoblauch put a phantom tag on Jose Offerman of the Boston Red Sox during the American League Championship Series in 1999. Offerman was called out, and the Yankees went on to win. A 12-year-old baseball fan named Jeffrey Maier reached over the fence to deflect a ball hit by the Yankees' Derek Jeter into the stands for a home run during the 1996 ALCS against Baltimore. Jeter could have been called out for fan interference. In college football, on-field officials gave Colorado a fifth down (a team gets only four) to score a touchdown during a crucial game against Missouri in 1990. Colorado won 33-31 and went on to claim part of the national title. Missouri fans pulled down the goalpost after the loss. American boxer Roy Jones Jr. dominated his South Korean opponent in the gold-medal match at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, only to see Park Si-Hun handed the decision. Umpire Don Denkinger called the Kansas City Royals' Jorge Orta safe at first base despite being beaten by half a step in the ninth inning of a 1985 World Series game against St. Louis. Kansas City went on to win the game and the series. In the 1972 Olympics, officials reset the clock three times in the final moments to allow the USSR to prevail in the gold-medal basketball game against the undefeated U.S. team. Before the clock was reset, the U.S. team mistakenly celebrated what they thought was a win. Baltimore Orioles catcher Elrod Hendricks tagged sliding Cincinnati runner Bernie Carbo with an empty glove in a 1970 World Series game, but umpire Ken Burkhart — who had his back to the play — called Carbo out. (By the way, Carbo also missed the plate.) Blown calls in sports history Blown calls in sports history Blown calls in sports history Blown calls in sports history Blown calls in sports history Blown calls in sports history Blown calls in sports history Blown calls in sports history Blown calls in sports history Blown calls in sports history Blown calls in sports history Blown calls in sports history Blown calls in sports history Blown calls in sports history Blown calls in sports history 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Photos: Blown calls in sports NFL, referees reach agreement The agreement keeps their pension program in place for five years. The contract allows the NFL to hire some officials on a year-round basis and hire additional referees so they can be trained. This season's use of replacement referees climaxed in a furor over a botched call that allowed the Seattle Seahawks to walk away with a 14-12 victory against the Green Bay Packers in a nationally televised game Monday night. In what became a widely mocked symbol of the quality of officiating by the replacements, a photo from that game shows two officials in the end zone displaying competing signals: one indicating a touchdown, the other an interception. The result generated intense and immediate criticism of the league. Even President Barack Obama weighed in Tuesday urging a quick resolution. On Thursday, White House spokesman Jay Carney said Obama was "very pleased" with the preliminary resolution. For NFL officials, it's a side job that requires a lot of work Commissioner Roger Goodell said he was not surprised by the outcry about the Monday night game. The league acknowledged Tuesday that the Packers should have won, but allowed the result of the game to stand. The return of the league's regular referees won't put an end to controversial calls, said retired NFL player Tiki Barber. But it will raise the respect level between coaches and players and officials, Barber said. "There's still going to be arguing with referees," he said. "They're still going to make bad calls. But now we're going to know that it's coming from a base of knowledge. These guys know what they're talking about and they're going to have an argument for why they do what they do on the field." Lessons for NFL fans CNN's Jason Durand and Michael Pearson contributed to this report.