Just when the first half was coming to a close on Thursday night, 49ers offensive lineman Trent Williams got into a scuffle with Giants defensive lineman A’Shawn Robinson as San Francisco was taking a knee to run out the clock, leading to Williams throwing a right hook to the facemask of Robinson.
Offsetting penalties were called, but no further punishment for Williams, leading to an irate Brian Daboll as the two teams headed to the locker room for the halftime break.
After the game, Walt Anderson, NFL senior vice president of officiating, told pool reporter Matt Barrows that there wasn’t enough evidence that Williams threw a closed fist punch on Robinson, which is why no further discipline was enforced.
“We couldn’t confirm that 100 percent from the standpoint of was it truly a closed fist with a strike,” Anderson said. “We just couldn’t determine that.”
Armed with a video clip that appears to show Anderson clearly throwing a closed fist punch, fans quickly ripped Anderson for the explanation, in disbelief that Williams wasn’t ejected.